The Future
by Leaded-Pegasus
Summary: Percy and Annabeth are now twenty-five years old, and living together. They are both just finishing up college, and ready to take on the world...together. Well, with the help of their Boston Terrier, Meatball, of course. Through difficult and happy times, they promise to each other to stay together until the end, no matter what the future brings.
1. Chapter One: Monstrous Kisses

**A/N: I HAVE RETURNED! I know I said I wouldn't be posting Percabeth stories anytime soon. Or anything related to Percy Jackson, for that matter. Well, put it this way. I lied. And for most of you familiar with my stories, you know I always come back at some point, right? Well, here you go! I love ya' guys! As always, I'll try to update as much as possible. I might make really long chapters and post them, once or twice a month. Probably twice.**

Chapter One: Monstrous Kisses

Percy stumbled up the apartment stairs, bleary-eyed, with his workbag dragging behind him. After a long night at the aquarium he had been "apprenticing" at, he was more than exhausted. If there was such a word that meant, "More than exhausted" he'd love to hear it. But after he slept, and had something to eat. He was _starving_. Well, he was almost always hungry, but he hadn't eaten anything all day, literally. He finally got to the top of the stairs, the floor that his apartment was on. Percy fumbled for his keys in his dress pants pockets, and finally got a hold on them. He jabbed a random key into the lock, or at least tried to. He looked down, and saw him holding his car key, instead. He let out a tired, zombie-like groan.

"Come on…" He murmured, "I just want to sleep." Percy flipped through the variety of keys, and finally found the apartment one. This time, he got the door unlocked, and pushed the door open. Percy stumbled into the darkened apartment, and made his way towards the kitchen, not bothering to close the door. He kicked off his shoes, loosened his black tie, and yanked the fridge door open. He glanced around at his selection, and quickly spotted the leftover ham from a few nights ago. Annabeth, surprisingly enough, had cooked it. But they only got about halfway through the meal before they had a food fight (which ended in their bedroom). He reached for the drying rack for a plate, tossed a couple of slabs of the cold meat on, grabbed a jar of mayonnaise and a couple of pieces of cheddar cheese, and kicked the fridge door shut. He set his food down on the kitchen table, and then walked over to get a couple of slices of sourdough bread. He walked back over to his other food, bread in hand. As he prepared his sandwich, he mentally went over his schedule for tomorrow. He had to get up at five-thirty, and well, who knows when he would be getting out of work. He finished up his work of art sandwich and took a quick bite. Percy nearly dropped his beautiful sandwich when he heard yapping coming from the hall, getting closer and closer.

"Shh! Quiet, Meatball! You're going to wake Annabeth up!" Marco, their Boston Terrier, always started barking when he knew food was being eaten. Hence the name Meatball. Percy flipped the kitchen light on so he could see his crazy little dog. Just as he did, he jumped again, when he saw Marco sitting down in front of the fridge, staring at him with his buggy, brown eyes, "Marco! There you are, buddy!" Percy crouched down so he could give his dog some love. After Percy got more than enough kisses from him, he set him back down so he could eat. Marco ran out of the kitchen and back into the darkness, strangely enough. Normally, he would sit down and beg until Percy gave him some food. Percy would always give him table scraps, but not Annabeth. She said, "He needs to be trained to know that he can't have scraps." But Percy still caught her giving Marco a small piece of bacon on a few rare occasions.

"Marco? Where are you goin', buddy?" Percy stood back up, and saw his dog running into their bedroom. Percy whispered in a hissy voice, "Marco, no!" He ran after him, and found Marco just as he was jumping on their bed. Percy could faintly see Annabeth under the covers. Marco started barking and howling at her, "No, Marco!" He hissed, "You meathead!" Annabeth stirred under the covers,

"Percy?" Her sleepy voice asked.

"Hey…" He whispered guiltily, "Sorry Marco-" Marco started barking again, and Percy raised his voice a little louder, "Sorry Marco woke you up!" He walked over, leaned down, and kissed her on her cheek. He snapped back the second his lips came into contact with her skin. It was slimy…and tasted revolting! He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, getting slime on it.

"Er…Annabeth? Are you alright?" He turned on the lamp on the bedside table, and yelped when he saw not Annabeth, but something green and well, slimy, lying in his bed. A one-eyed…green, slimy thing in his bed. A Cyclopes, "Gah! You're not Annabeth!" Percy stumbled out of the room, snatching up Marco. As he went down the hall as fast as he could, he pulled Riptide out of his pocket, and bit the cap off. He frowned, and panicked a little, when Riptide didn't grow into his trusty sword, he looked down at the pen; it read _New York Aquarium: Connecting People to Wild Nature!_

"Fantastic." He muttered, and spat the pen out. Percy backed up into the lit kitchen, and finally found the true Riptide. He uncapped it, and it grew into its sword form. He heard the Cyclops's heavy breathing getting closer and closer. And finally, it came into the light,

"Any last words, Son of Poseidon?" The Cyclops asked, grinning, and showing its yellow, fuzzy teeth. Percy shrugged,

"Yeah. Look behind you." He panted. Sure enough, the monster whirled around to look at the big giant nothing that was behind him. Percy charged, running Riptide right through his back. It wailed in pain, and then exploded into a column of greenish and putrid slime, splashing it here and there on Marco's fur. Percy, too tired to even walk, collapsed on the floor, and fell asleep.

"What in the Hades happened here?" Marco demanded with Annabeth's voice in a dream Percy was currently having. He tipped his head.

"What do you mean?" He muttered.

"I mean, what happened here? There's slime all over place!"

Percy looked around, "What-"

"Get up, Percy!" Percy snapped awake, Annabeth was looming over him, and not looking very happy. He sat up, running a hand through his slimy hair.

"I thought I told you Percy, you can't microwave green Jell-O." She muttered sleepily.

"Long night?" He asked.

"Yep…I had to work on this one thing and-Hey, don't try to change the subject, mister! Where did all this slime come from, anyway?" Percy explained everything to her.

She sighed tiredly, "Whatever, I'm going to sleep. I've got to go to bed. I'm exhausted, and I have to get up at eight."

"I wouldn't sleep on the bed if I were you." Percy murmured.

She turned on her heels to look at him, "Why not?"

"There's monster slime on your side of the bed."

"That's okay, I'll just sleep on your side of the bed." Annabeth replied almost automatically.

He frowned, "Okay…where am I going to sleep?"

"The sofa."

**A/N: This was just a test run, that's why it's a shorter chapter. I wanted to see how you guys thought it was, and whether or not you want me to continue it.**

**P.S. Percy and Annabeth are both 25-ish now. Just thought you guys would want to know. **

**~L-P**


	2. Chapter Two: An Unexpected Visit

Chapter Two: An Unexpected Visit

Percy pulled into the empty parking lot of the aquarium. He grabbed his coffee, slid out of the car, and locked it up. He took a quick sip of his warm drink before he started making his way across the snowy lot. Percy shivered when he remembered the attack from the night before, along with Annabeth banishing him to the cold, leather sofa for the night. Naturally, he didn't get much sleep, and he was now stumbling from exhaustion. Percy walked under the overhang of the aquarium and dug the key out of his winter coat.

Percy stepped into the dark, but very, very alive aquarium. In the many tanks scattered throughout the room, he could see various marine species swimming inside them. He flipped the lights on beside the front doors, and the room lit up. He grinned, thinking about how much he loved this place. Percy walked over to one of the bigger tanks that were situated the walls and had windows to reveal what was behind them, and placed his gloved hand on his glass. He pressed his face against the glass,

"Come on…where are ya', buddy?" Percy asked hopefully.

He nearly tripped over a mop caddy when the dweller of the tank finally appeared. A Bottlenose Dolphin, a baby in fact, swam right up to the glass, making various clicking noises. Percy's look of shock quickly faded, and a booming grin replaced it, "Hey…" The dolphin eagerly rubbed his nose against the glass, right where Percy's hand was.

"If you keep talking to that dolphin, you're going to go mad!" A teasing, but familiar voice called from the front doors.

"Grover?" Percy frowned in surprise, "What are you doing here, dude?"

"Coming to talk to you, of course." He replied, as if it should've been completely obvious.

"Grover…I think a quick Iris message would've been okay."

"As corny as this sounds…I was in the neighborhood." Grover snorted, and sat down in a desk chair nearby.

"So what's up?" Grover asked as Percy sat down in a chair himself.

"Nothing much, just trying to get ready for this marine biology exam and get it over with." Percy said, knocking back another gulp of his coffee. There was a short length of time before Grover blurted out suddenly, and even a little angrily,

"When are you coming back to camp again?"

Percy was a little surprised at the question. He hadn't been to camp in a long, long time. It had been years.

"Well, I uh…" He rubbed his neck with his sweaty hand nervously, "I don't know, G-Man." He nervously took a sideways glance at his friend, and saw and angry gaze looking right back at him. He snapped his eyes back down at his shoes. Percy heard Grover get out of his chair quickly, followed by some shoes tramping back towards the front door. When Percy looked back up, he saw Grover just as the door was closing behind him.

"Grover, wait!" Percy leapt out of his seat and went after his friend outside. He saw him storming off into the snow, "Dude, wait, let me explain, please!"

"You haven't visited camp in seven years, Percy!" Grover whirled around, and instead of an angry and intense stare, it was now a hurt, and depressed one, "And you want to explain?"

"I-"

"You and Annabeth are one of the few Demigods who lived for a reasonable amount of time. And you're putting that on the line, just so you can live in the mortal world?" Grover ranted.

"Grover, why are you saying this? I'm trying to lead as much as a normal life as I possibly can. I love camp, but I love Annabeth, too!"

Grover's gaze dropped, and he let out a shaky sigh, "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. You just-haven't visited in so long, I…"

Percy put his hand on his old friend's shoulder, "I know I haven't visited in a while. And I'm sorry, too."

"Well I was thinking…" Grover mumbled, "That you could, well, just maybe…"

Percy grinned, and removed his hand, "C'mon. Spit it out already."

"Could you maybe visit during the Winter Solstice?"

Percy's insides jolted a little. He had completely forgotten about the solstice! Not only that, but Christmas, too.

"What?" Percy asked, sounding mortified.

"I know…it's a lot to ask." Grover cried out loud, "You with your biology studies…Annabeth with her architecture…Just forget I asked!"

"No, no!" Percy shouted, "Oh gods. How many more days until the solstice?"

"Well it's the nineteenth, so…two more." Grover replied, sighing in relief, "For a second there, I thought you said you weren't going to be able to show up."

"Don't worry, dude, Annabeth and I will be there."

"Alright. See you, dude." Grover said, waving and started jogging into the storm.

"Wait, do you want me to call you a cab? It's below freezing out here!" Just then, a sharp wind cut through Percy, causing him to cringe slightly.

"I'm a Satyr, Percy! I think I can handle it!" Grover shouted over the storm, and disappeared into it. Percy sighed, causing a shoot of his steamy breath to fly up into the air.

"See you soon, G-Man."

"Mister-Mister Jackson!" The aged director of the aquarium shouted, but was unable to wake Percy up from his sleep, "Oh, will someone wake him up, please!" A fellow peer shoved Percy's shoulder, finally causing him to snap awake. He peeled his face off the table, leaving a red mark on his face. He was about to continue on with the lab with his partner, but he sighed in frustration when his teacher's round shadow clouded his paper. Percy looked up at his teacher, Mister Milton.

"Is there something I can help you with, sir?" Percy droned.

"No, young man. But those smart little…comments won't be helping _you_ in _my_ course. And neither will sleeping in them. This is your last warning," His teacher leaned in closer, "If I catch you sleeping in here again, I'm afraid I'll have to fail you. Is that understood?"

Percy nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Good," Mister Milton waddled off to the other lab tables. Percy absentmindedly handed his partner a pair of tweezers, and jotted down various notes and observations his peer was muttering.

"You fell asleep _again_?"

"I was up _all night_, John!" Percy used as an excuse, and sat down next to one of the older aquarium workers, who he had befriended when he first showed up here.

"If you want to do well in class, Perseus," Percy rolled his eyes. John always called him by his full first name, "the least you can do is stay awake. Now why were you up all night?" He pressed as he scooped some grime from one of the dolphin tanks.

He thought of a harmless lie, "I uh…was studying."

John set the net that was in his hands down. He peered over his glasses, "Studying? What were you studying?"

He rolled his eyes playfully, "Notes, books. Anything that will help me pass Mister Milton's stupid exam."

"If you say so." John sat down beside Percy, "I don't really know how to word this but…why did you want to be a biologist?"

Percy's mind drew a blank. He loved the sea, and almost anything that had to do with it.

"Perseus…you know you don't have to be a biologist to be closer to the ocean. There are plenty of other jobs."

"I know! It's just…"

"Perseus, I had the same issue as you when I was your age. I jumped at the job because, well, it seemed like the only job out there that seemed to have anything to do with the ocean."

"And now?"

"Look where it brought me. I love this job. I don't care about the pay, or the other things that go along with the job. All I know is that I love it. And I'll never quit."

Percy looked down at the dark tank water below him, "Wow…I guess I never thought of it that way." John chuckled beside him, and pounded him hardly on the back.

"See what I mean?" John glanced over at the clock on the wall, "And look at the time! It's time to go, Perseus. Did you get that tank clean over there?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then, what are you waiting for? You have a Friday to celebrate, and a break. Now get going!" Percy got to his feet,

"Alright." Percy scooped up his workbag and slung it over his shoulder, "I'll see you soon, John!" Percy started jogging across the slippery floor,

"Don't run! You're going to slip again!" John shouted. Percy slowed down, but just to a speed walk.

Percy's cell phone played a high-pitched melody repeatedly in his pocket, until he finally answered it. He put the phone up to his ear,

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Annabeth replied on the other end.

"Hey!" He said, grinning, "I've got a surprise."

She got quiet, "I don't know if I should feel happy, or worried."

"Happy, Grover stopped by the aquarium this morning." He took a turn, and drove down the exit, "He invited us to stay at camp during the solstice."

He could faintly hear Annabeth let out an excited gasp, "You're not lying, are you?"

"Why would I lie about something like that?"

"So when are we leaving?"

He looked around the corner of a street, and then took the turn so he could talk again, "Dunno. We could probably leave tomorrow-"

"Yeah, let's go tomorrow!" She quickly and excitedly said.

"Okay, then, tomorrow it is."

"I'm picking up dinner, by the way." She added.

Percy immediately returned to attention, "Really? What are you getting?"

"It's a surprise. You'll just have to wait."

He let out a whiny sort of sigh, "C'mon…just tell me!" The line went dead, and he scoffed playfully. He turned off his phone, and shoved it back in his pocket, "I guess I'll find out later, then."

Percy jogged up the steps, and then unlocked the door to the apartment. He heard Marco bark at him, as usual, and then appear.

"Meatball!" Percy shouted in a giddy voice as he shut the door. He picked up his dog, and then walked into the kitchen. He set Marco down, and then searched through the fridge. As he did, he heard Marco was beginning to whine, "What, Marco?" Percy said through a mouthful of ham.

He looked down at Marco, who was staring up at him expectantly. He then looked over at Marco's food bowl, which was empty, "Aw…I forgot to fill your food bowl this morning, didn't I?" Percy tossed him a scrap of ham, and then went over to refill the checkered bowl, "You want to go watch T.V., buddy?" Marco barked, as if saying yes, and then followed him down the hall, and into the living room, which was adjoined to the bedroom. He dove onto the couch, quickly followed by Marco. Percy turned the television on, and started to flip through the channels for something interesting. He eventually found himself watching a basketball game, sharing a plate of ham with his meatball of a dog, and cheering on the Celtics.

"Oh, come on! He could've made that shot!" He complained, and bit into a piece of his ham.

The front door opened, "Percy, I'm home!" Annabeth shouted.

Marco was about to bark, but Percy raised a finger to his lip, "Shh! She's going to kill me if she catches me feeding ham to you!" He whispered.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice called, followed by the crumpling sound of a paper bag. She appeared just as he was hiding the plate that still had meat on it, under the sofa.

Annabeth frowned, and lowered the bag, "Uh…what are you doing?"

"Nothing." He said blankly, and went back to watching the game.

"Well…if you aren't doing anything, come eat dinner." She replied, still looking at him weirdly.

"Okay." He turned off the television. Percy got to his feet with his terrier on his heels. For extra measure, he shut the living room door so he couldn't get to the ham while they were eating.

"Alright! Japanese food?" Percy asked as he sat down at the dining room table.

"You bet. I got you some beef teriyaki, so you don't freak out and be all," Annabeth changed her voice to sound as much like Percy as she could, "I can't eat my own kind! Dad would drown me!" She added in a quick voice crack at the end.

"Hey," Percy snapped defensively, but playfully, "He wouldn't drown me, but I think it would definitely be frowned upon, Wise Girl! And my voice doesn't crack!"

Annabeth laughed, "Just eat your dinner. And for the record, your voice used to crack quite a bit." She handed him a Styrofoam container and bowl, that was filled with Miso soup, "Hey, I can't eat this either! It's got seaweed in it!"

"Oh yeah," Annabeth said, swallowing a piece of sushi, "You'd definitely be eating your own kind, there. Your head's _full_ of seaweed!"

"I'll just pick it out," He mumbled as he tried scooping the seaweed out. After he gave up on that, he opened the container. In one of the compartments, there was a heaping pile of seaweed salad that even went over to another one of the sides a little bit.

"Annabeth!"

She looked as though she nearly choked on her food as she forced herself from laughing.

"I'm sorry…" She squealed, "I'm sorry."

He moved onto his beef, and took a bite out of his food.

"There's some soda in the fridge." Annabeth said as she took a sip of her own. He got out of his seat, and walked over to the fridge, cup in hand. He poured himself some, still on guard after the seaweed attack.

"I got a movie too. Do you want to watch it later?"

"Hmm…sure." Percy said as he pushed the fridge door closed with his foot, "What movie?"

"You'll see."

"Fine," Percy sat down, taking a sip of his bubbly Cola. With his chopsticks, he picked up a piece of the beef, and found a wad of seaweed beneath his food, "Annabeth, stop!" He whined.

Annabeth howled with laughter at the sight of Percy's childish and pouty expression.

"You know what, Wise Girl?"

"What?"

"At least _my_ mom doesn't swoop down and eat innocent little rodents." He tested in a snarky tone. The very amused look on Annabeth's face wiped away.

"What?" She asked, even angrier before.

Percy leaned back casually in his chair, a smug look on his face, "You heard me."

"If I really did hear you right, take it back, then." Annabeth ordered, a furious look on her face.

"No."

"Take it back!"

"…No."

"Well then," Annabeth muttered, leaning back in her own seat, "Two can play at that game. At least _my_ dad…at least my dad-" She faltered, "I-"

"Ha! You can't even think of a good comeback, Wise Girl."

"Oh, I'll think of a good _payback_! Watch your back, Sea Spawn." She narrowed her eyes a little, and then walked off down the hall, "I'll meet you in the living room."

Percy frowned down at his dinner. Now he really regretted saying anything. He needed to think of a battle plan and fast. But first, he needed a quick shower.

Percy was in and out of the shower in five minutes. Minimum. He dabbed himself off quickly, threw on a pair of sweatpants and a tee, and quickly walked down the hall to get to the living room. Before entering the room, he quietly slowed to walk, and strode into the living room, looking unnaturally stiff.

Annabeth was sitting on the sofa, curled under an old blanket they had. Marco was nowhere to be found which made the whole situation even more suspicious. She had probably already put him in his room, as she knew that Marco always had his back.

"Where's Meatball?" He asked, narrowing his eyes until they were nothing more than slits.

"Oh, I put him to bed." She said breezily, and started the movie up, "What? Do you need an invitation? Come on; don't be shy."

"Yeah, because there's no reason whatsoever to be shy of you at a time like this!" Percy shouted, flailing his arms up in the air. He sat at the edge of the couch, as far away from her as possible, "So, what movie did you pick?"

"Don't remember the name of it…My friend from work let me borrow it. It's some sort of architecture documentary." Annabeth said as lightly as before.

Percy looked over at disbelief, "You said we were watching a movie."

"Well, then, I guess you'll have to watch this." She droned in a dull voice, like the commentator on the documentary that had just started.

"Ugh…" Percy only managed to sit through about fifteen minutes of it, before his head tipped back, and he crashed out…

"ATTACK!"

Percy spluttered awake, "Huh?"

_Splash! _

A jet of water splashed onto his face before he could even will himself to stay dry. He looked over to see who had ambushed him, and saw Annabeth a few feet away, grinning at him wickedly. In one hand, she was holding an empty cup, in another, a white, fluffy mound of flour.

"Don't you da-" She pelted him with the flour, but luckily, he shielded his face with his hand before she managed to get too much into his eyes, or anything painful like that.

"Take _that_, Kelp Head!"

He coughed a little, "Really? That was your great and mighty comeback? An attempt to antique me? Nice try, Wise Girl." Percy coughed lightly.

Annabeth stood there, dumbfounded, "Huh?"

"You obviously don't know how to prank anyone."

"But-that's like, the best prank in the book!"

He coughed once more, "Really? That's the best you could come up with? You got to think outside the box if you're really going to get someone back."

Annabeth folded her arms, "Alright then. You win-"

"Ha!"

"For now. Just watch your back at camp. Good night!" She gave him a quick smile, turned, and headed into their bedroom.

**A/N: I daresay there is a prank war in our midst! Mind the "medieval" talk, I'm reading that Catherine Called Birdy book…it's okay I guess. We have to read like, forty pages before Tuesday…better get crackin' on that. It's a good thing I finished this early, because I've also got to memorize the twenty-one Spanish-speaking countries AND their capitals by Wednesday. I guess that's eighth grade in a nutshell for you. Oh well. Alright, I've decided that I will only be updating once a month. Believe me, it's convenient on both sides. **

**Until November,**

**L-P **


	3. Chapter Three: A Secret Surprise

**A/N: Hey, guys! I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween, and are enjoying November so far.**

Chapter Three: A Secret Surprise

Percy slowly creaked his eyes open, in case it was still dark outside. He didn't want to be getting up at five thirty in the morning while he had the opportunity to sleep in for once. It was still dark, perfect. He could go back to sleep for a little while at least. Percy was just about to fall back asleep, until he heard-

"Percy! Get up, we need to get ready to leave!" Annabeth hissed while rolling over to his side, knocking into him.

"Mmm…no." He mumbled, "It's still early, go back to sleep."

"We haven't even packed yet, and you know how long we both take to get packed!" She hissed over the fan. It was a good thought, but it still wasn't even enough to get him to simply open his eyes.

"So? I don't think they'll mind if we show up a little later, like after lunch." He replied, attempting to change the subject.

She let out a frustrated sigh, and then took a sharp breath in, as if she had another incentive to wake him up, "If you get up now, I'll make you breakfast."

He laughed coldly, "Annabeth, you barely made dinner for us a few weeks ago. You nearly burnt the house down twice, you left the oven on, and you accidentally burnt Marco with a frying pan! Do you really expect me to believe that you could handle breakfast?"

"Come on, I'm a great cook!" She chimed.

"I'll tell you what, if you let me sleep for another hour, _minimum_…I'll take _you_ out to breakfast, and we'll all be happy." Percy offered, burying his face in his comfortable pillow.

"But then the breakfast won't be as special," She mumbled sadly.

He sighed, and then turned his head over, "Well, I guess since I'm up now, I suppose we could start packing now."

Annabeth let out a victorious type of noise, and ran out the room, "I'm going to go get showered, you can wake Marco up!"

Percy shivered as the fan, on its rotation setting, shot a light gust of breeze at him. He quickly scooped up his navy blue hoodie, and zipped it up. As he walked past the fan, he punched the off button.

Percy walked into the spare bedroom they had, and poked inside. The light from the hallway poured in, revealing his small dog, who was sleeping on his plaid, doggy bed. Percy walked in and crouched down beside him and caressed Marco's head.

"C'mon buddy, you've gotta wake up." He said gently. Marco's deep and expressive brown eyes slowly goggled open, and he let out a huge yawn, followed by a squeaky sort of sound, "Good boy. Do you want to…go for a ride?" Marco's exhausted looking face was replaced by an alert one. He had pricked his ears up, and his eyes were more goggled than ever,

"We can go, buddy, but you've got to help me pack. Come on, get your bed!" Percy said in his goofiest voice, patting his knees. Marco sprung off his bed and began to tug it out of the room. In the little free time he had, he often taught Marco how to do various tricks, and this was one of his favorites.

"Go on, put it by the door!" Percy shouted excitedly, pointing in the direction of the door. Marco continued to drag it, but into the bedroom instead, "Ugh…I guess a little more practice would work." Percy followed Marco into the room, and opened his closet door. While Marco dropped his bed and sniffed intently at the floor of the closet, Percy began to dig out his duffel bag. He tossed some clothes in, like he usually did, and zipped the bag up. Percy rubbed his eyes before pulling on a pair of black Converse. Before leaving the room, he stared at his bed longingly, but was able to tear himself away to look in the direction of the bathroom door, which had opened. Annabeth walked past with a towel wrapped around herself.

"So, where are you taking me for breakfast?" She asked, taking her towel off. He frowned, scratching his eyelid.

"I don't know, there's this good place in town, I guess we could go there."

"Have you been to this good place of town that you speak of?" Annabeth asked while pulling on some undergarments.

"Yeah, and besides, there's somewhere I need to stop by."

"Where?" She implored, glancing at him.

He smirked to himself. He knew full well where he was going, and what he was getting. But it was a very, very big surprise, "Can't tell you that."

"Okay, Perce, if you say so." She opened out her arms, showing off her outfit a little, "Well? How do I look?"

He shook his head, "I wouldn't recommend you asking me for advice. I'm going in my pajamas, so-" He carried his bag over by the hanger, and then pulled his coat on. Percy turned to see his girlfriend, now wearing a jean jacket and shoes, and holding a duffel bag in her hand,

"Oh…you're all set to leave?" He asked.

"Yes, now let's go!" She said, grabbing his forearm.

"C'mon, Meatball!" Percy called over his shoulder. Marco quickly followed, proudly showing off his dog bed that he was struggling to hold onto with his small teeth. Percy shut the door and locked it. He was nearly dragged down the stairs by Annabeth with her unwavering and tight grasp on his hand.

"Annabeth! You're going to crush my hand!" He whispered in pain.

"Oh, don't be such a baby!" She replied. When they got to the foot of the stairs, and she let go of him, he scooped up Marco and tucked his bed under his arm so he couldn't run off on them when they went outside. Annabeth dug the keys out, and then unlocked their car. Sadly, Percy's old car had falling apart, and he didn't have the money at the time to repair it. They got rid of it, and bought a newer Volkswagen Jetta model. Annabeth opened the back door for Marco, and Percy set him down on the blanket in the back. He shut the door, and then tossed Marco's bed and his bag into the trunk, which Annabeth had opened. He shut it a second time, and then walked over to the driver's seat, the snow lightly crunching under his shoes.

Percy pulled out of the apartment's parking lot, and drove away. He expected Annabeth to be bouncing off the walls of the car from excitement. But instead, she seemed quite solemn now, and was looking out the window quietly.

"Hey," He took her hand, getting her attention, "Everything's going to be okay."

She let out a shaky breath, "Percy, I haven't gone to camp in years." He turned a corner, and lightly caressed her hand.

"Well neither have I. And besides, Chiron wouldn't have invited us if he didn't want us there, right?" He glanced over at Annabeth, who was wearing a small smile,

"I guess so." The car ride was quiet for a little longer, until they heard Marco in the back seat, snoring like an old man. Percy bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.

"So you're not going to tell me where you're going after breakfast, are you?" She asked, laughing a little at Marco's heavy snoring.

"Nope. It's a big, big surprise that you can't see at all."

"Can I just have a hint?" She whined.

"No," He said patiently as he parked beside a meter. Percy turned to Marco, ignoring Annabeth's pleases, and said, "Marco, we're getting breakfast," at the word breakfast, he tipped his head, "We'll be back soon, okay?" Percy looked around the back seat for his grey hoodie he usually kept back there, and put it on Marco instead. Marco's buggy head poked out. Percy chuckled, and patted his small dog on the head. He crawled out of the car, shut the door, and locked it. He had read enough crazy animal stories when he was little that dogs were quite the escape artists. Percy walked Annabeth up to the steps with Annabeth,

"I'm going to take a run to that store I told you about, alright?" He asked, letting go of her hand.

She eyed him suspiciously, "Alright, Seaweed Brain."

"Don't wait up for me!" He called over his shoulder, and jogged down the road. He carefully looked over his shoulder to see if Annabeth was still outside before he rounded a corner. He spotted the shop he had been looking for, and then stepped inside. He was a little surprised that the shop was still open, since it was so early in the morning. He blinked wildly from how bright the inside was, from all the glittering cases, but he spotted an older woman behind the front desk. He walked over,

She looked up at him, giving a faint smile, "How may I help you?"

He returned a smile, "I'd like to buy a ring, please."

**A/N: Bam! How's that for you guys? I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'll be seeing you guys on December 1****st****. I have to warn you guys, though, that the next chapter may be a little shorter. I need to work on my Social Studies fair project, which is due on November 30****th****. But it will still be awesome, don't worry. I'd be willing to take pictures of it, if any of you are interested. I hope for those of you who celebrate it, Happy (early) Thanksgiving. I'll try to post a short or something as a little treat for you guys. **

**Love you guys!**

~L-P


	4. Chapter Four: Nostalgia Attack

**A/N: Happy holidays, everyone! And happy Saturday! Go out and spend time with your family if you get the chance!**

Chapter Five: Nostalgia Attack

Percy gave a grateful thank you to the shop woman, who had given him a lot of help, and stepped out into the cold. When he rounded the corner for a second time, he slipped the velvety box that was a deep blue into his pocket. The last thing he needed was for Annabeth to see what had taken years to save up for. Finally, he walked up the three or four steps to the door of the diner. He walked in, glancing to his left and right until he saw Annabeth sitting in a booth. He sat down across from her, picking up a menu,

"You took a while," He looked over his menu and saw that she was almost done with her own food. Percy waved her away,

"I wasn't that long. There was…a line."

"I'm still trying to figure out how you found a store that was open this early, much less had a line." She took a sip of her orange juice. That probably wasn't the best excuse he could've come up with.

"Never mind. I'm still not going to tell you where I was." A waitress came to take his order, and he told her what he wanted. When she walked up, he sunk into his booth.

"I wonder how much camp's changed since we were last there." He muttered, glaring at a chip in the table.

Annabeth made a humming sound in agreement, "Hmm…I was thinking about that, too. But the one thing I don't really want to think about is-" She got quiet, looking down at her messy plate.

"I agree," He sighed, looking outside to check on Marco, "I hope everyone we've known is still in one piece, too." It didn't take long for his food to arrive, since they were the only people in there besides the staff. Percy scraped some jam onto his toast before taking a bite. He took a sip of coffee,

"Mrff…I'm starving to death. This is the best breakfast I've had in a while."

"Clearly. You're eating like some wild animal." Annabeth couldn't had said this at an even better time, because just as she did, Percy looked up at her with a piece of bacon protruding from his mouth.

"Oh…" He swallowed his food, "Sorry." Almost immediately, he dug into his food.

"I wonder how many new campers they've gotten, too."

"Plenty, I bet." He replied through his food. In all but five minutes, Percy had scraped his plate clean of even the tiniest crumbs. He paid for their food, and then headed back outside to the car. As they approached it, Marco cried out enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes, we're back." Percy burped.

As they drove away from the city, the buildings slowly receded until there were massive trees that were almost just as big. And finally, they were right next to the border of camp. Percy quickly pulled off the road,

"My bad. I almost forgot we're supposed to park here."

Annabeth didn't give him an answer. Instead, she let out a breathy sigh. He didn't blame her for being nervous. He knew that he was. But, like he had said earlier, if Chiron hadn't wanted them there, he never would've invited them to stay.

"Ready?" He asked before sighing himself. He felt like he needed a nap from his huge breakfast, and the fact that they were finally back at camp. Annabeth nodded, unbuckling her seatbelt. They both crawled out, though Percy had Marco on a leash as he got his own bags (and Marco's bed).

"C'mon, Marc. You're going to love Mrs. O' Leary."

They climbed the snowy hill and finally got to the top. And there it was-Camp Half Blood. They were finally home. Percy looked over at Annabeth, and she looked over at him. They took each other's hands before walking through the borders and into camp. Percy let out a surprised gasp as he remembered that the interior grounds were always warm, and he immediately pulled off his coat.

"Woah. I forgot how warm this place was."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," He barely managed to say as memories flooded back, some good, and others painful to recall. Campers here and there stopped a play in volleyball to look over at the seemingly unexpected guests near the borders. Other campers stopped their sword play to also look over,

"Percy! There you guys are!" Grover bleated as he jogged over.

"Grover?" Annabeth said, her voice almost a squeak.

Grover looked over at her, grinning, "What's up?" She engulfed him in a hug, and Percy smiled. She released their friend,

"You look so different since the last time we saw you. You're horns really grew in the last couple of years!" Grover looked up like he was trying to look at the top of his head,

"I guess they have," He looked back down at them, "Now c'mon! Chiron doesn't know you're here!" He turned, and walked towards the Big House, Annabeth and Percy closely behind. Obviously, his popularity amongst admirers had passed on, and people here and there whispered,

"Woah…it's Percy Jackson."

"That one demigod who saved Olympus!"

Annabeth laughed under her breath, "Looks like someone's still popular."

Percy looked around, trying to change the subject, "Oh, um-where's Marco?"

"He's over there," Annabeth nodded over to the volleyball pit. He was running back and forth under the net, trying to catch the ball as it was spiked and passed back to the other side. Percy bit back a smile, Marco wouldn't have a problem fitting in here.

Grover held open the screen door for them, and they walked in. Nothing had changed inside the house décor-wise.

"I'll go get Chiron…he should be in his office." Grover disappeared around a corner, and Percy could faintly hear their conversation, "Hey, Chiron?"

"Yes? What is it Grover?"

"I've got a surprise." His voice sounded like it was almost overloaded with excitement.

Chiron sighed faintly, "A surprise…that doesn't sound good."

"No, really. You have to see this," Grover insisted.

"Is it another prank?" Chiron replied. Footsteps and the squeak of a wheelchair came down the hallway, and their owners appeared. Grover grinned at Chiron's reaction.

"Oh…" Was all he could say. Annabeth laughed, a small crack here and there, "This is-quite the surprise. Here, let's go out onto the porch." He wheeled outside, the screen door shutting behind him. Percy looked over at Annabeth, who was stunned with shock. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and he walked over and took her in his arms,

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Annabeth's head nudged back and forth, shaking her head no.

"Nothing. I just haven't seen him in so long." She hiccupped.

"Well you don't have to cry," Percy laughed.

She nodded, and he let go of her. Annabeth hastily wiped her eyes. Grover cleared his throat awkwardly,

"Well, should we go outside now?" Percy nodded, caressing Annabeth's hand.

"C'mon. I bet he'll give us lunch." He set their bags down, and they walked back outside.

Grover had gone off to get food for them all, leaving Chiron, Annabeth, and Percy to catch up. Chiron had some good news, but he had much more that was grim,

"Clarisse tried her luck out in the mortal world herself not long after you two left," Percy winced slightly, "It didn't work out, and now she says she's just going to stay here for now."

Percy frowned, looking down. He couldn't believe how lucky he and Annabeth were. They almost never got attacked. But others weren't as lucky as they were.

Chiron was quiet for a few more moments, "And now for the good news, perhaps? How have you two been holding up in the mortal world?"

Percy looked over to Annabeth, "We've been holding up okay. It can be a little tough to fit in sometimes. I mean I don't have any mortal friends from school or anything like that."

"Neither do I," Annabeth mumbled.

Chiron turned his neck to look over at the volleyball pit, "I see that you got a dog?"

Percy grinned, "Yep." Grover jogged up the steps with two plates of food. One held a variety of sandwiches, the other was a heaping pile of fries. Marco bolted over, and barked for food, like he always did. Percy set a sandwich half down for him, and chuckled a little as he tore it apart.

"Percy, if you keep feeding him scraps from the table I'm afraid he'll get fat." Annabeth mumbled. He ignored her, and took a bite of his own sandwich. He had forgotten a lot of things about Camp Half Blood, including the fact that there was the best food he had ever tasted here. It took two sandwiches to suddenly make him recall the small box that was in his pocket. He swallowed deeply, as if the sandwich had suddenly turned to glue. When was he going to ask her? He was scared to death that he was going to screw this up. He had one chance, and one chance only to do this, and there was no room for screwing up…

**A/N: This makes me glad I'm not a guy…a lot. I already have a serious fear of public speaking. But if I was a guy and had to propose to my girlfriend, I'd probably die.  
**

**See you guys in a few weeks, since we're back to the regular schedule after the Christmas posting.  
**

**~Leaded-Pegasus**


	5. Chapter Five:The Nerve-Wracking Question

**A/N: Hey, everyone! I hope everyone has a nice Tuesday tomorrow, and Happy Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! Or just Happy Holidays in general, Happy Everything! I hope everyone will spend time with family tonight, even if you're not celebrating anything at the moment.**

* * *

Chapter Five: The Nerve-Wracking Question

Percy watched pairs of kids spar in the arena, and was too into it to notice that Grover had sat down next to him.

"Really, Percy, I thought you would've asked her by now," Grover started, making Percy almost jump in his seat.

"What? Oh, I don't know what you're talking about that," He mumbled, doing his best to keep his mind off that. He glanced over at his friend, who was giving him that quirked eyebrow look.

Grover sighed, rolling his eyes, "I've known you since middle school, Percy. Not only that, I have an empathy link to you. Remember? There's no use in lying."

"Alright. Good point. And I was actually just thinking about when I was going to ask her."

Grover nodded, "Yes, that's why I brought it up."

"Well…I don't really know. I guess I could ask her tonight, but-" Percy cut himself off there. He was completely clueless on this stuff.

"I remember when I proposed to Juniper," Grover said. Percy hadn't even heard about this. He leaned towards his friend, wanting to know more, "I was so nervous, and I didn't know what to say really. But I just met her out in the forest on a nice, sunny day and…I asked her."

"And?"

"She said yes, of course." Grover replied, rolling his eyes playfully.

"But that's it? You just took her out in the woods and asked her?"

Grover tilted his head side to side, "More or less. I might've broke out some of my amazing jokes, but yeah. But Percy, it doesn't need to be fancy, or something crazy. She'll love it either way. I mean, this is Annabeth we're talking about."

Percy stood, "I guess so." Grover beamed, patting him on the back,

"I think I can leave the rest to you."

Percy racked his brains throughout the day, trying to think of where he could propose. During the campfire that was scheduled for tonight? No, too many people. It needed to be somewhere more private. His cabin? Definitely not, there was too much of a mess in there. And then it came to him during dinner. Just as he scraped a portion of his meal into the pit, a perfect idea appeared. After the campfire ended, he could sneak off with Annabeth to the beach. By then, the whole thing would probably just take its course. Percy rubbed his palms together. They were slick with sweat from how nerved up he had just became. He absentmindedly looked over to the Athena table, where Annabeth was sitting. She was gazing back at him, and a trace of a smile crept across their face. A grin appeared on his own face before he went back to eating. This was not going to be very easy…

Before they walked out of the pavilion, Percy took Annabeth's hand as they walked down the hill towards the fire, which was blazing madly in the distance. Marco trotted at a steady pace alongside them. Percy sighed, attempting to undo the knot that was tightening in his chest by the minute.

"Are…you okay?" Annabeth asked, "You seem kind of edgy."

Percy was quick to respond, thinking it would ease her worry. Little did he know that he was just adding to the tension, "Yep. Everything's great!" His voice cracked a little on the last word.

"If you say so, Perce," She mumbled as they took a seat on a log by the fire. Percy helped himself to the pile of chocolate bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers nearby. He stuck a marshmallow on a stick before hovering it over the fire. He retracted it, checking it over. Slightly darkened to perfection, just the way he liked his marshmallows,

"I can't believe you eat your marshmallows when they're thoroughly charred." Annabeth said as she placed her own marshmallow between a pair of graham crackers.

"Hey, they taste good like that," He chimed defensively. After they had eaten their weight in s'mores and sung a bunch of campfire songs, Chiron said it was time for everyone to retire to their cabins. After a couple of minutes, everyone had dispersed except Percy and Annabeth, who were sitting by the dying fire.

"Hey," Percy said, taking Annabeth's hands in his.

Annabeth smiled, "Hi." Percy opened his mouth slightly to ask her if she wanted to take a quick walk on the beach, but he couldn't. He was scared, petrified even. He probably would pass out from fear before they even made it to the beach. And proposing by a fire wasn't a bad idea, either. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the fire was a deep purple, as it would change color with the emotions of the people by it.

"I love you. You know that, right?" Percy started.

Annabeth laughed, caressing his hands, "Of course I do, Seaweed Brain."

"Well, we've been dating each other for a while. We've known each other even longer. We've been on quests together, and I knew I could always put my life in your hands when we were on them. I can always depend on you for advice and comfort when I need it. You're my rock, Annabeth. I know that's really cheesy, but it's the truth. So, Annabeth…" He sunk down from the log and got down on a knee, hastily pulling out the box in his pocket, "If you'll have me, I'll be there until the end." He mentally thanked the gods over the fact that the fire was only getting darker. His hands were trembling. In the darkness, he could hear Annabeth let out a gasp,

"Percy. Oh my gods, of course. Of course I'll marry you!" Annabeth said as he pushed the ring onto her finger. He leaned up slightly as they shared a passionate kiss…

**A/N: I had to write and re-write this chapter so many times. But I think I got it right this time.**

**Until the next chapter,**

**~Leaded-Pegasus**


	6. Chapter Six: A New Year's Surprise

**A/N: I'm so glad I was able to finish this in time. I remembered this just as I was checking Facebook, Fanfiction, etc. I totally panicked. But, I guess I was sort of inspired today, so I wrote this down pretty quick. Either way, enjoy!**

Chapter Six: A New Year's Surprise

It had been a few days since Percy and Annabeth had departed from Camp Half Blood so they could spend Christmas with Percy's mother. As tough as it was to leave, they also couldn't leave Sally and Paul alone on Christmas. But, they promised Chiron and their friends that they would make time to visit. After they had left camp on Christmas morning, they drove straight to Percy's mother's house, promising to each other to keep the fact that they were engaged a secret for now. After exchanging gifts and whatnot, they headed home, since they were too exhausted to do anything else.

"Gods, I could crash out right here," Percy mumbled as he walked into the apartment, "I just need to eat something first."

"We just had the biggest Christmas dinner in history, and you're still hungry?" Annabeth gawked as she freed Marco from his leash. He immediately took off down the hall to do who knows what.

"Hmm, I guess you're right about that," Percy padded into the living room, not wanting to do anything more other than to crash out, "I just want to check the-ugh! What is that smell?" He demanded as he curled his nose at the putrid smell. He glanced around, searching for the source of the stench coming from the room he was in. Percy searched high and low, doing his best to keep breathing the awful aroma to a minimum, until he finally spotted the source: the plate of ham under the sofa. Well, Percy thought it was ham, at least. But whatever the food was, or had been, had a thick coating of something green and fuzzy. He quickly picked up the plate as he stood, making sure he kept it as far away from him as possible. Percy strode awkwardly into the kitchen, where Annabeth was sipping a glass of water. She frowned at how he was acting as he set the plate down on the counter,

"What's that?" She mumbled over the brim of her glass before taking at sip.

He turned to face her, "Do you really want to know?"

Annabeth shrugged, "Sure. How bad can it be?"

"It's pretty bad," Percy said as he showed the contents of the plate to her. She almost instantly turned the color of the food.

"Oh…that is pretty bad." She mumbled faintly before bursting out of her seat and running down the hall. Percy watched her bolt into the bathroom, followed by a loud, belch-like sound.

"Annabeth…Sorry-I-I didn't think it was that bad. I mean, it sort of burnt the hairs out of my nostrils, but I didn't know it was that bad." Percy quickly responded as he jogged a short distance down the hall towards the bathroom. He found Annabeth hunched over the toilet, heaving profusely. Percy crouched down beside her, pulling her hair away from her face and rubbing her back lightly. After she seemed to have her stomach under control, Percy sunk down to the bathroom floor to sit.

Annabeth rubbed the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, "Sorry about that. I guess I'm just not feeling good."

Percy stood as he checked his pockets for the car keys and his wallet, "It's fine. But I'm going to the store for some medicine for you, since you're obviously coming down with something." She was quick to shake her head as she managed to stand and grab his arm before he could walk out of the bathroom,

"Really, Perce-I'll be okay." She insisted.

"No. You need some medicine, and besides, we don't have any for days when either one of us is sick like you are now."

Annabeth released his arm from her frail grip, "Fine. Go run to the store so you can dote on me." She said with a small smirk. Percy returned the small gesture before stepping out of the room before heading for the door.

_A few days later on New Year's…_

"I'm home!" Percy cheered as he walked through the door, "I've got a surprise with me, too!" After a few moments, he frowned when there was no answer to his call to the house, "Hmm, she's probably still at work." His happy mood diminished slightly as he walked down the hall to set the bottle of champagne down in the kitchen. Even though it had almost been a week since the incident with Annabeth, he was still puzzled about it. She insisted that she had eaten too much food at his mother's house, but that wasn't right at all. He remembered the fact she hadn't eaten much, despite how much his parents, or his mother, more specifically, had said that she should eat more. Even if it wasn't exactly as blunt as that, it was something along the lines of that. But he decided not to get his panties in a bunch too much over it. It was New Year's Eve, and he was going to watch the ball drop with Annabeth no matter how tired he was the next day. Just as he began to imagine how great the whole thing was going to be, the door opened.

"Hey, Wise Girl!" Percy called from the kitchen.

"Hi, Percy." Annabeth mumbled as she trudged warily down the hallway, carrying a small plastic bag. He tried to see what it was, but Annabeth must have spotted him trying to look, because she stuffed the bag into her purse, "I'm uh, going to shower." And with that, she turned and headed for the bathroom.

"…Oh. Okay, then." He said in a surprised tone to Annabeth, who was no longer there. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the number for their favorite Chinese restaurant in hopes that Annabeth was just tired from work and she would be in better spirits after waking up a bit. He ordered his favorite: Orange chicken, white rice, and an eggroll, and also ordered Annabeth's: Chicken Lo Mein and a small container off egg drop soup. Whatever it took, he was going to make this celebration as happy and festive as he could.

It turned out that Percy could throw a pretty good New Year's Eve party. Even if it was just Percy, Annabeth, and Marco, they were having a pretty good time together. They passed the time that led up to the countdown by watching specials on TV, eating their food, and listening to some quiet background music. It had helped that Annabeth had a better temperament. She seemed to be doing swimmingly, as a matter of a fact. Who knew a shower could do just that? They joked about their resolutions and whatnot, and also discussed the fact that they were engaged, a fact that nobody else besides themselves knew. And then, one final thing came up, as though it was seemingly out of the blue. It was for Percy, but unknown to him was that Annabeth had been running the conversation through her head for the past hours,

"Woah! It's less than a minute until the ball drops! I better find the channel," Percy mumbled as he clicked through.

"Er, Percy? I've kind of got something on my mind." Annabeth chimed in as he landed on a channel that was featuring Times Square.

"Shoot." Percy mumbled over the brim of his champagne glass.

"Well, I have some really good news. Great news, actually…You know how I was saying a few weeks ago I had been wanting something permanent?"

"Vaguely."

"Oh. What I'm trying to get at Percy is that-"

"Wait! Ten more seconds until the ball drops! Nine, eight, seven-"

"No, can I say what I was going to-"

"C'mon, Annabeth, you can tell me in a second. Four, three, two-" Annabeth clenched her teeth in frustration as she snatched the remote and shut the television off,

"I'm pregnant, Percy."

**A/N: So many things happening at once! But hopefully this will keep you guys on edge until February. There will probably be an extra chapter or two during that time, since I'm planning to post something for my birthday, and maybe even Valentine's Day. I just have to see how busy I'm going to be.**

**Happy New Year!**

**~L-P**


	7. Chapter Seven: A Cry in the Night

**A/N: This chapter is really short, so I'm really sorry for that. Think of it as some sort of prelude to the next chapter of Percy and Annabeth's relationship. But either way, I'll be posting something on Valentine's Day, so the wait will be a little shorter than usual. **

Chapter Seven: A Cry in the Night

A shatter broke the silence between Percy and Annabeth, as Percy had dropped his champagne glass. Marco lapped up the beverage that was spreading on the floor.

"What?" Percy demanded, "I mean, uh, wow…I don't know what to say." He was speechless, yes, but he had good reason. So much was running through his head that he just couldn't process it all.

Annabeth laughed nervously, "I had a feeling you wouldn't." Percy looked away as he felt his face getting hot and rubbed his neck with unease,

"Well, let's go to bed, shall we?"

"Yep. Definitely." They simultaneously hopped off of the couch and stepped into their bedroom. All while not making a single moment of eye contact, they crawled into bed, each with their backs facing each other. Percy exhaled shakily, now that he was able to break down everything. Well, for starters, Annabeth was pregnant. That was obvious, she had just told him, of course. Percy buried his face into his pillow. He was going to be a dad. That was a pretty insane thought. But what really was catching in his thoughts was the fear of whether or not he was going to be a good father. For most of his life, he didn't have a father around, much less a fatherly figure. And as for Annabeth, she didn't have either of her parents around for the bigger portion of her early life. What if he was going to be an awful father?

Very early that morning, something stirred Percy out of his sleep. Sobbing was coming from Annabeth's side of the bed. He turned on his side to face her own portion of the bed, and he heard the nearly inaudible crying stop suddenly. He inched over towards her, wrapping an arm around her midsection. The crying picked up again suddenly, but louder than before,

"I'm scared to death, Percy. What are we going to do?" She hiccupped. Percy caressed her stomach, attempting to calm her down a bit,

"We'll figure something out."

"You…just seem so calm about it." Annabeth exhaled shakily, her body shuddering.

Percy chuckled a little, "I'm anything but calm, actually. Annabeth, I'm just as scared as you are." Annabeth turned in her place so her head was nuzzled into his chest,

"We're not even married yet, and I'm pregnant." Annabeth said in a tone of misery before picking up her sobbing once more. Percy put an arm around her, and took her hand with his free one.

"Hey, if that's anyone's fault, it's mine. Don't blame yourself for my sloppy move. I'm not saying this kid is a bad thing, but…" He trailed off from a loss of words. What in the Hades was he saying?

"Just go back to sleep, okay? We'll talk some more tomorrow…"

**A/N: I can't say how sorry I am about how short this chapter is. But, like I said, I'll make it up to you guys by posting something special on V-Day...I've got a little something in mind.**

It's just down the road until we meet here again,  
~L-P


	8. Chapter Eight: Game Night

**A/N: I was fearing that this story might be losing the funny edge it used to have, so I've decided to add a like more quirky remarks and moments. Actually, it felt like it was having all its good edges, and I don't want this story to fail. You guys deserve better than for me to end the story suddenly like I did with the one over the Summer. **

Chapter Eight: Game Night

Percy rifled through his closet, pulling out its contents as he went. Old papers, chewed shoes (courtesy of his dog), and unmarked boxes full of various mementos piled the closet.

He didn't want to be cleaning out his closet.

But, it appeared as though he didn't have much choice. Annabeth had suggested that he should do some Spring Cleaning, despite the fact it wasn't Spring, but it was actually the dead of Winter. But when Annabeth suggested something, that meant you'd better do it, or else. So, rather than being able to enjoy his leisurely Thursday morning, and he had to clean, of all things. As Percy dug to the bottom of the junk of the closet floor like a ravaged animal, he came across something that was anything but garbage. Unlike the now torn-apart shoes or papers that could've been older than the Gods themselves, this was gold compared to everything else he had discovered. It was something that he had practically lived on when he was younger: His first Xbox. Percy almost squealed with joy when he lifted the klunky-looking thing out from the ragged bed sheets and over his head. The holy grail of his childhood, he had discovered it yet again. But he frowned after a moment and looked it over. Since he hadn't come from a wealthy or affluent family, that also meant he didn't exactly come from money, either. So, in turn, the Xbox wasn't exactly his. He had probably rented it out ages ago, and he didn't want to even look at how much money he owed the place he had got it from. Oh well, it was their loss, anyway. Perseus glanced down at the Xbox in his hands, and then at the mess that did a donut around his seat on the floor. Should he obey Annabeth by continuing his "Spring" cleaning, or go on a major nostalgia trip? But, then again, there was the matter of finding the games that went to it, along with the controllers.

"Looks like I have to clean," Perseus muttered with finality, gathering up the ancient papers and setting them aside.

Percy continued to clean, despite how close to the edge he was on dying of boredom. There were a couple of other reasons Percy obliged to Annabeth's "request" to clean out his closet instead of ignoring her. He had heard enough from Grover during Christmas about how you don't ask questions when your wife tells you to do something, otherwise, there'd be a serious toll to pay. Not that Annabeth would beat him senselessly or something if he didn't do what she asked him to, she never acted like that. But considering the fact she was now a little ways through her pregnancy, that might change in the blink of an eye. Another reason was that Percy was looking for his old dress shoes (another request of Annabeth). He had surprised her with news that they were going out for a nice dinner at a restaurant that night, and Annabeth had told him he should wear his nice shoes. And even though he knew for a fact that those had long since been demolished by Marco, Percy decided to humor Annabeth. He came across another box, which was slightly dented from the weight that had been stacked on top of it for who knows how long. He tugged the flaps of the box open, since the tape was so weak he could do just that. Percy pulled out some old CDs and movies until he uncovered something that wasn't a CD or a movie. It was a game, and beside it were two, bulky controllers, and they were all, surprisingly enough, appearing in good shape. He pulled the game out slowly, clenching his teeth in anticipation, and threw his fist up in the air when it was just the game he hoped it was going to be: Halo. He couldn't take it any longer, he _had_ to play the Xbox, just for a little bit, at least. He scooped up the Xbox, putting it under one arm, and picked up the game and one of the controllers. Maybe Annabeth would play a short game with him later and forget all about the closet ordeal.

It was six o' clock, and Percy was still going strong at Halo. He wasn't doing so hot so far, since he was seriously rusty at the controls. But then again, he was playing on easy, so it didn't make much of a difference whether you were the best player in the world, or the worst one. He was already about halfway through the game. He didn't remember the controls, but he remembered all the maps practically by heart, along with the placement of just about every enemy that lurked around the corner. He used a checkpoint-loading period to check his watch. He couldn't believe Annabeth wasn't home yet-

"Percy," Annabeth called after the door swung open, "Are you ready to go? I just need to shower." His stomach flipped slightly. Oh Gods, he wasn't even dressed himself! He was still in his pajama pants and T-shirt! Her footsteps came towards his end of the hallway, and she first glanced into the closet,

"Well, I see you didn't finish the closet." She grumbled before turning and walking into the living room. She looked at him, then at the TV, and back at him, "I see you didn't get ready, either."

He flashed a nervous smile, "Yep..."

"What are you doing, anyway? The reservation is for seven. We'll never get there in time." She sat down beside him as the next level started up, but Percy paused it and set the controller down on the coffee table.

"I'm sorry," He mumbled before adding hopefully, "We might be able to make it in time, if I just take a quick shower." Annabeth shook her head, and Percy noticed that she was looking ill.

"I'm not feeling good, that's all." Annabeth leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. He put an arm around her, pulling Annabeth closer. Percy rubbed her arm as they sat together, not saying much of anything.

"Are you up for something to order for here, at least?" Percy asked, glancing down at Annabeth.

"Sure…" She mumbled sleepily after a while.

"Do you want your usual?" He inquired, already dialing the number to the Chinese restaurant a couple of blocks away.

"Sure." Annabeth repeated, leaning to the other side of the couch. The owner of the restaurant took Percy's order, before telling him his food would be ready in about ten minutes. He stood from his spot on the sofa, draping a blanket over Annabeth. Percy pecked a small kiss on her cheek,

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes, Wise Girl." He whispered quietly into her ear.

"Got, it Seaweed Brain."

Percy lugged two bags into the apartment, one with their dinner, the other, well, the other bag had various last-minute Valentine's Day candies. He didn't mind helping himself to a bag or two of candy hearts. But something made him pause in the doorway: muffled gunfire and explosions.

"Annabeth?" He lightly kicked the door shut behind him before walking into the living room. Annabeth had her eyes super-glued to the TV's projection of Halo with a controller in her hands. He gawked in disbelief, "I don't think I've ever seen this before."

His fiancé grinned at him, looking a lot better since he had left to go pick up dinner, "What can I say? It looked interesting." He set the bags down on the coffee table in a hurry,

"Mind if I join?"

"Not at all…I could use a tutor. These controls are impossible." She replied.

"They're not bad once you get the hang of them," Percy offered after hooking up the second controller he had quickly grabbed from the other room, "Which level did you start on?"

"The fourth or fifth one, I think."

"Well, for starters, you don't just fourth or fifth level Halo. You've gotta play from the beginning."

Hours passed, and the two played late into the night until the ending. As they watched the credits rolled, they joked about the couple of funny accidental grenade and rocket launches, Warthog jumps, and a large amount of deaths on Annabeth's part.

"Oh my gods, Annabeth, you have no idea on how many times you died."

"Hey," She snapped defensively, "I've never played this game before. But I have to say…it was a pretty amazing."

"It's one of the best," Percy added. Annabeth glanced over at him,

"You're one of the best."

"If you're calling me one of the best gamers, I would have to agree with you on that one." He cracked, tossing a piece of chocolate into his mouth.

"No, Seaweed Brain," She turned over so she was half-hugging him, half straddling his knee, "You're just…great." Percy laughed a little before hugging her close to him,

"Happy Valentine's Day, Wise Girl."

**A/N: I know Annabeth calling Percy "The Best" was a little corny, but hey, that's what makes a good Valentine's Day story.**

**~L-P**


	9. Chapter Nine: Spreading The Word

**A/N: Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you all have a great weekend, and most of all, I hope you enjoy the chapter.  
**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Spreading the Word

It had been a little over two months since Percy had proposed to Annabeth, and that he was told he was going to be a father. Both of these news flashes were unknown to anyone they knew except themselves, and they had no idea what kind of reactions they were going to get from each person they planned on breaking the news to. Percy's courage wasn't exactly brought up to speed quite yet, and he didn't mind waiting to tell people a couple more months. But, to his disappointment, Annabeth decided they had waited long enough, and it needed to be known.

Percy was lying in bed one Saturday morning, flipping through a magazine, until Annabeth strolled in with her laptop tucked under one arm.

" 'Sup?" He remarked casually, only to have Annabeth playfully roll her eyes at him. She sat down beside him on the bed, logging into the laptop.

"Percy, I think it's time we told the news." She started, looking over. Percy hesitated for a moment, like he didn't comprehend the simple sentence,

"Hmm? What news?"

Her voice hardened, making the conversation all the more tense, "I think you know." He sighed before throwing his head back melodramatically.

"Come on, Annabeth. Can't we wait a little longer? I mean, sure we have to tell everyone that we're getting married, but honestly, isn't the fact that you're pregnant going to be obvious soon?" Percy's eyes glared towards Annabeth's stomach at this,

She covered it, breaking her stomach away from his sight, "Okay, Seaweed Brain, rub it in even more! And yes, maybe we can keep it quiet, but only for a little longer. I don't think I need to highlight why we can only keep it hidden for a short time period, now that you've already happily pointed it out."

Percy lightly raised his hands in surrender, "I was just saying what needed to be said. And by the way, how is our little bundle of joy doing?" His eyes softened this time as he glanced towards Annabeth's midsection a second time. Her own eyes dropped the serious tone as she looked down at her own stomach.

"Okay, I guess. There's no kicking or anything big yet. Just…" She trailed off for a moment, "Little things." Percy's mouth rolled into a frown, a slight amount of panic rising inside his chest,

"Isn't that a bad thing if you aren't feeling anything? I mean, it's been long enough that you should at least feel some form of kicking." Percy slurred.

Annabeth smirked at him, "I'm glad you're concerned about the baby, Percy, but you really shouldn't be. And besides, when did you become a baby expert?"

"I'm not, but I was just saying that we might want to get it checked out by a doctor, perhaps? I think I'd trust their word a little more than your instincts or whatever it is you're counting on…No offense."

"None taken," Annabeth said with a small smirk, followed by a light punch to his ribs, "But again, I don't think we need to worry too much."

"Well, when do we want to tell everyone?" Percy asked, tucking his legs so they were crossed together.

"Sometime soon, obviously." Her voice trailed as she gradually got more and more absorbed by her laptop's seemingly never-ending stash of information.

Percy grinned, an idea drifting to mind, "We're free for the weekend. We could always drive down to camp." Annabeth paused, taking in the idea,

"Yeah. And we aren't expecting anyone, either." She added and began to sound as though she was liking Percy's proposition even more, "Some fresh air and quiet might be nice, as well."

Percy tipped his head side-to-side, "I can't say I plan on getting anything close to quiet, this is camp we're talking about."

"Good point. Well, then, let's get packing."

"On it."

Percy packed a few light outfits, knowing he didn't have to show up to camp in a full business suit or anything too formal. But, then again, he could get a pretty good laugh out of that if he actually did. Percy pushed the idea away, resorting to a pair of jeans and a plaid button-up shirt instead. It was a little wrinkled here and there, but he really didn't feel like ironing a shirt. He pulled on a pair of sneakers before leaving the bedroom to find Annabeth's whereabouts in the apartment.

"Oh, Annabeth?" He called melodramatically, "Are you ready to leave yet?"

"What?" A muffled, but echoed voice called from the bathroom, "Of course not, I haven't even showered yet." Percy huffed, blowing a puff of air up into his face.

"Do you have to shower?" He whined, "We're going to camp, not some fancy dinner."

"So it has to be a fancy dinner for me to be able to shower?" She shot back. Percy opened and closed his mouth, unable to find a good comeback suitable for Annabeth's, "I didn't think so." Behind the bathroom door, Percy heard the sound of running water, and the light squeak of the shower curtain closing. He huffed again, but this time, it came out more as a low growl. He looked down by the base of his feet, knowing who would be sitting there. A pair of buggy eyes belonging to his dog stared back at him, before he let out a garbled whine.

"C'mon, Marco." He muttered, grinning lightly. He walked down the hall, his dog trotting beside him. He jumped, tackling the bed. He scooped up the magazine he had previously been reading and resumed looking at the various pictures rather than actually reading the magazine articles. And then he waited, and waited while he was waiting. He rolled over, burying his face in his pillow. He felt his eyes getting heavier and heavier. School had been increasingly taxing lately, and he found himself not wanting to do anything related to it. He wished he could just leave his attempt at getting a degree as a Marine Biologist, but Percy knew deep down that someone can't just take flight away from something like that. He had come too far to pull something like that off. The knot in his chest tightened, feeling as though his occupation as a biologist was now cast in stone more than ever.

"Hey, babe…Wake up. I'm all ready to go, now." Annabeth's voice said quietly as a light shake nudged his shoulder. He breathed in quickly, and his eyes opened. Annabeth's face beamed down at his, "C'mon, I got our bags all packed up."

Percy groaned a little as he stretched, "Gods, is it night time, yet? I'm exhausted."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's a short one, but I'll be posting a couple of special chapters on Saint Patrick's Day, more than likely, so you won't have to wait that long.**

**Leaded-Pegasus out…**


	10. Chapter Ten: A Weekend at Camp

**A/N: Happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody! I know I'm posting this a little late in the day, but I got a little distracted from Mad Men. But luckily, I decided to watch it simultaneously with my writing, so I got the job done. It's a pretty straightforward chapter, but I did what I could to add some fluff.  
**

* * *

Chapter Ten: A Grim Truth

Percy took a quick turn into the parking lot of a busy gas station. Annabeth pointed out an open pump, and he quickly occupied it before a massive truck did. Percy turned the ignition key, and the car's engine fell silent. He shoved the keys into his pocket and opened the driver's door,

"I'm going in to pay. Want anything for the road?"

"Just something to drink. And some sort of sour candy, maybe?" She asked.

Percy chuckled as he patted his breast pocket for his wallet, "Isn't it a little early for candy?"

"Right," Annabeth half-laughed herself, "This is coming from the guy who eats cookie cereal."

"Hey, cookies and candy are two different things. At least my breakfast has some sort of nutritious value to it." Percy attempted to rebound.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes pointedly, "…Right. I don't know where you think that's going to get you in this debate. Just get me a drink, then."

"Fine, fine," He laughed, "I'll get you some candy of some kind, too."

"Not just any candy," Annabeth chided as Percy stepped out of the car, "Sour candy." His eyebrows retracted into a furrow behind his sunglasses,

"So specific. What? Are you craving something sour or something?" He said the last comment out of sarcasm, but Annabeth fell under an awkward spell soon after.

"…Maybe." She mumbled, a grin faintly etched onto her face.

"Never fear, I won't let you down." Percy announced melodramatically, ducking his head under the frame of the car door. He gave Annabeth a quick kiss, and couldn't help but grin a toothy grin. They broke away, and Percy shut the door. Percy jogged across the bustling parking lot and into the station's building. To his surprise, he found the inside wasn't as busy as the outdoors, and that there were only a handful of people milling about. He casually strolled towards the candy aisle, searching for the candy that appeared to be sour. Typically, he preferred peanut butter cups over sour candy any day, and for the life of him, Percy couldn't process why Annabeth would crave something like that seemingly out of the blue. Girls apparently loved chocolate, why didn't she want that instead? But he decided not to question it anymore, she just wanted what she wanted. He settled on a package that was maroon red, labeled 'Super Cherry Bombs,' with some sort of nuclear-scale explosion drawn in the background.

He shrugged, "Close enough." Percy grabbed them out of the box and walked towards the multiple coolers of drinks. He spotted a good-looking bottle of lemonade, and picked out one for Annabeth, along with another for himself. He made his way to the counter with the three snacks tucked under his arm and pulled out his wallet. He placed his items on the counter when it was his turn, glancing outside to look at Annabeth. Her head was tipped down towards her stomach, and looked almost as though she was talking to it. Percy grinned at this.

"That will be four seventy-five, sir." The cashier announced to Percy, and he pulled a crisp, but slightly wrinkled five dollar bill out. The cashier took the bill, and the register dinged as he went in to give him his change.

"Just keep the change, kid." Percy said, waving the quarter away and scooping his bag up. He shoved his wallet back into his pocket, humming random tunes as he walked out of the store.

As Percy and Annabeth drove out of the city, the buildings began to vanish and were replaced by trees that gradually got larger as they got more rural. He sipped his lemonade, while she ate her sour candy. Marco stood between their seats, his two front paws on top of the center glove box.

"Really, Marco, if you weren't so puny, you might make a good lion," Percy sarcastically remarked. His dog continued to ignore him and took to looking outside instead. Percy looked over at the passenger's side, where Annabeth was still munching fiercely on her candy.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Percy muttered, gripping the steering wheel tighter and looking back at the road.

"What? Going to Camp to tell everyone we're getting married?"

He nodded once, "Exactly. Wouldn't invitations be good enough?"

"I wouldn't think so, Percy. Maybe in your world it would work, but in a case like this? Not so much." Annabeth downed a sip of lemonade and put her candy wrappers in a loose plastic bag, "Besides, why are you still debating this? We have to go through with this. Don't worry about it, we'll get it over done and over with as soon as we get there." Percy exhaled heavily, the tension in his chest rising quickly. His breathing must have gotten louder and more fast paced, because Annabeth looked over at him with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" He reassured, leveling out his breathing, "Let's just get to Camp and get this little announcement over with." The inside of the car fell silent after that, with the exception of Marco's snorting and slobbering. Percy took to breathing in the fresh air pouring in from the outside. It was nice, taking a break from the smoggy city air to get some peace and quiet at camp. Not that there would necessarily be much peace and quiet, since there was almost always something going on at Camp. And considering the fact it was St. Patrick's Day, Percy had a good feeling that there would be a party of some kind somewhere. Though, to his disappointment, there probably wouldn't be any form of drinking tonight, even if it was St. Patrick's. But, if he was lucky, there might be a special party the head counselors had planned for that evening. There may not be the cold bottles of beer that Percy thought sounded good right not, but even without alcohol, they could all pull off a pretty good party.

Percy dug Annabeth's duffel bag out, along with his own. Annabeth scooped up their dog and put him on his blue leash. Percy could hear Annabeth breath in heavily,

"Isn't it great?"

"What's great?" Percy asked, shutting the car door and locking it. He tossed one of the back's straps onto his shoulder, and held the other in his hand.

"The fresh air."

Percy nodded, chuckling quietly, "Yeah."

"Think the counselors have a secret party planned?" She continued.

Percy laughed a little louder, "Well, I don't know how much of a secret it might be. You know how things like that get around Camp."

"Well, you never know." Percy walked over to Annabeth's side, taking her hand with his free one. Annabeth looked over at him, and he did the same.

"Ready?" He muttered, looking in the direction of the hill that led to the entrance of camp.

"I should be asking you the same exact thing. I'm not the one who was hyperventilating in the car." Percy rolled his eyes a little,

"Yeah, yeah," He grumbled, "Let's just get this over and done with so we can enjoy the weekend." They both began their short, but steep trek up the hill. Percy's feet shuffled through the grass and what was left of the snow on the ground. Knowing that he was more than ready to escape the frigid March weather, he picked up his pace a little bit.

"Eager much?" Annabeth teased, cracking a small smile.

"Yes, maybe I am a little excited to get out of this freezing cold air."

"Well lucky for you, the first day of spring is only a few days away." Annabeth informed as they reached the peak of the small summit. Percy's breath hitched slightly, as it always did, when he looked through the borders of Camp. The grass sparkled a bright green, along with countless other things that came with Camp Half Blood. Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's hand slightly, his excitement bubbling over slightly. They continued on, passing through the invisible borders. Percy instantly felt relieved from the warm air that suddenly engulfed him. He broke away from holding Annabeth's hand to peel off his coat, and they began to make their way towards the Big House, which was fairly easy to see from where they were standing. As they approached the Big House, Percy could make out a figure sitting on the porch. Chiron. He was in his wheelchair form, rather than his true, much taller stature. He didn't look at all surprised that they were there, but, then again, he had probably seen them coming down the hill. As they climbed the short set of steps for the porch, a faint smile placed itself on Chiron's mouth.

"Percy, Annabeth, what brings you two here?" He inquired, turning his chair around so he could fully face them. Percy's thoughts immediately went to the proposal, and his vocal chords had seemed to suddenly fail him.

Annabeth went in to save him, "Well, we were free for the weekend, and we decided to come down here." Chiron's smile faltered a little, and Percy couldn't help but notice his eyes drift down towards Annabeth's hand. Her ring hand, to be precise.

"Well, I can see that it's more than that. Come inside." He turned his chair around, and Percy opened the door for him. Chiron wheeled himself in, and Percy and Annabeth trailed behind him.


	11. Chapter Eleven: A Grim Truth

**A/N: Sorry I was a little late on posting this today. But then again, I'm pretty sure lunch time is about the time I normally post things. Well, it's lunch time where I'm at. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on my friend coming over today, since I wanted to play a prank on him in the spirit of April Fool's. My sister and I want to dip an onion in caramel so it looks like it's a caramel apple. I'm typically not one to prank people, but he's so easy to trick that it's hard to say no. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!  
**

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Chapter Eleven: A Grim Truth

Chiron wheeled his way over to the small living room by the door. He regarded the large sofa that occupied a good portion of the space. Annabeth and Percy hesitantly sat down, taking each other's hands. Chiron rearranged the blanket on his lap a little before placing his hands on top of his lap.

"What's the matter, Chiron? Is something going on?" Percy asked, his mouth going faster than he could ever think. Annabeth shot him a quick glare, urging him to stop. He fell silent, allowing Chiron to speak his mind.

"Well, first off I'd like to bid you congratulations on both the engagement," Annabeth and Percy immediately went red, "And the child." Percy had looked away by now, and Annabeth stepped in,

"Thank you, Chiron." Annabeth obliged.

Chiron sighed, obviously not sure where to go from there.

"There is no simple way to put this, but I hope you both know how lucky you are." Percy had returned to attention now, his face returning to a normal color, "Few demigods have lived to go on and do what you two have."

Percy's mouth drooped to a frown, "What are you saying?"

"I would've thought that you had heard enough tragic endings of demigods. Especially those who settle down together…" Chiron muttered, his face going pale, "Well, I think that is enough for depressing thoughts. But it is something to think about." Annabeth nodded. Percy remained silent.

"We'll keep that in mind, Chiron." And with that, she stood, scooping up their duffel bags. She made her way to the door, and he trailed behind her. They both stepped out onto the porch, and Annabeth immediately whirled around,

"What was that?"

Percy frowned, "What was what?"

"In there?"

"I didn't know what to say," He scoffed, "You seemed to have it under control."

"Who cares if I had it under control?" She snapped, shouldering her bag, "That was serious, what Chiron was saying, and you barely said a thing."

"Look," Percy sighed, "Whatever you're angry at me for not doing in there, you're overeating over it. Sorry I felt a little awkward." He rearranged his backpack and looked down at Marco.

"C'mon Marco," He grumbled, stepping off the porch. His dog leapt off the steps, trailing behind him and leaving Annabeth on the porch.

* * *

Percy pushed the wooden door to his cabin open, throwing his bag by the door. He slammed it behind him, falling onto his bed face-first. His pudgy Boston Terrier hopped up, snuggling beside Percy. He lifted his face out of his freshly made bed to glance at his dog.

"What am I doing, Marc?" He exhaled, scratching behind his dog's ears. Marco glanced up at him, his brown eyes moony. Percy's eyes trailed over to the patch of wall above his bunk, where his Minotaur horn was hanging. He extended his hand out towards it, lifting it up off of the wall slightly. He wished things were as simple as they were then. Not that they really were, since he was fighting for his life most of that time. But now, that on top of being engaged and having a job was more than enough, not to mention that he had a child on the way. The last nerve-wracking detail was the most stressful of them all. It had been bothering for quite some time. He didn't have a fatherly figure for a good portion of his life. The last thing he wanted was his kid to struggle or suffer because he was a bad dad. Percy reached up to his temples, rubbing them in order to get the tense feeling out of them.

"Let's go, Marco," He stood, walking over to his bag. He dug out his sweatshirt and pulled it over his head. Percy scooped up Marco's tennis ball, immediately getting his dog's attention. He walked out the door and headed in the direction of the beach, the tennis ball in his dog's sight the entire time. As they both stepped out of the borders, Percy threw the ball out into the surf. Marco immediately bolted away, kicking up sand beneath his feet. He sat down in the sand, just far enough from the water that he wouldn't get wet. With the breeze from the ocean running wistfully through his hair, Percy could feel himself slowly unwinding. He could forget all of his problems here. Leave them behind the borders. Well, at least for a little while. Percy laid back, the cold sand molding to his back, and he felt himself relax even more. And before he knew it, he was drifting off to sleep.

* * *

When Percy opened his eyes again, he squinted his eyes to find that it was dark out. Too dark, in fact, that he could check his watch to see what time it was. He felt a warm, but smaller body beside him. Marco. He felt a little guilty for not playing fetch with his dog, but he had been so tired from driving down to Camp that he was too exhausted. He rubbed his eyes carefully, minding the sand that had been caked onto the heels of his palms.

"Let's go, Marco. I'm exhausted." He yawned. Percy got to his feet, swiping the sand off the back of his pants. Percy didn't bother searching for his dog's ball, knowing he could look for it in the morning. He made the trek back up the hill, sighing at the thought of confronting Annabeth again. He hoped that ordeal could wait until morning as well. But as he approached the porch to his cabin, he knew that wasn't going to be the case. Why? Because Annabeth was waiting for him by the door.

"We need to talk," She mumbled almost inaudibly.

"I think whatever you need to say can wait." Percy replied stubbornly. He reached out for the door latch, but Annabeth stepped in front of it.

"I said," Annabeth pried, her tone rising, "We need to talk."

"I said it can wait," Percy rebounded, mimicking her voice, "Now would you please move? I want to go to sleep." Annabeth sighed,

"I'm not moving until we have a talk about what happened earlier." For a moment, they both glared daggers at each other, waiting for one to comply to the other's orders.

Percy rolled his eyes, "Fine, then."

"Thank you. Now can we please-wait-where are you going?" Annabeth demanded, marching after Percy, who had turned around and started to walk towards the Big House.

"To the Big House." He grumbled.

"Stop acting like a child, Percy!" Annabeth snapped, at her wit's end.

"Just leave me alone, Annabeth!" He barked, whirling around to face her, "What part of that don't you understand?" Annabeth opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"I was trying to be diplomatic, but that's obviously not going to work, now is it?"

He scoffed, "So much for that." Percy turned around a second time, his back to Annabeth as he walked up the steps to the Big House.

* * *

**A/N: I think an argument between the two of them was long overdue. There isn't a perfect couple on this Earth, after all. Even though it's a long time from now, I think this story is beginning to draw to a close. I'm planning on writing nine to twelve more chapters before I finish the story. That will probably be sometime in August. Again, it's a long way down the road, so nothing is definite. I just want to get the story finished at a decent time, but with a decent amount of chapters. I'll be starting high school pretty soon, and I don't want to be juggling that around with a story. But after I get comfortable with how things run in high school, I'll work on getting some things posted.**

**Until Next Time,**

**~Leaded-Pegasus **


	12. Chapter Twelve: No Ordinary Struggle

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter! I'm sorry it took so long for another one. There aren't many distinguishable holidays in April. Earth Day was the only holiday that really stood out, so I was left with that. I'll try to get on as many holidays in May as I can, since there are a few that come to mind. Also, I'm planning on changing my name at some point in the next couple of weeks. I know that will be the third time I've changed pennames, but my first two were kind of spur of the moment choices.  
**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: No Ordinary Struggle

Percy woke up Sunday morning feeling worse than ever. His eyes were heavy, and almost beckoned him to fall back asleep. It was tempting, alluring, the sound of drifting back to a better place in order to escape the troubles of the world. But he couldn't find sleep again, not after he had stayed awake long enough for those troubles to return to his thoughts. His disagreement with Annabeth flooded back to him the moment he opened his eyes. He turned over, now accepting the fact that he wouldn't be falling asleep. He stretched, allowing his back to crack here and there. He padded towards the door, but bumped into something on his way towards the bathroom. He flipped on the light switch to find a table. But what really caught his eye was what was on the table. He lifted the top off to find a simple breakfast of eggs and toast sitting on a metallic plate. He carried the plate over to his bed and began to dig in. It took him most of his time eating to realize that there was writing scrawled on his napkin, which was now fairly grimy. He squinted, just barely managing to read what it said.

_Sorry about last night._

_-A_

He grimaced, feeling a strong pang of guilt strike him. The things he had said to Annabeth, or even worse, how he had said it. If there was one thing Annabeth was right about him, it was that he skirted around his problems. She could see right through him, as much as he hated to admit it. He had been calling in sick at work, neglecting his duties as an intern at the aquarium just so he didn't have to go in. Simply put, he didn't want to be a biologist anymore. He didn't even know what he wanted to be. The dangers of being a demigod never went away, especially when he was engaged and had a child on the way. The last thing he wanted to do was come home from a tedious job one late night and find all of that had been taken away from him. Percy set his breakfast plate down, and the food that had once been carrying it felt like a rock in his stomach. He needed to talk to Annabeth. It couldn't wait any longer.

* * *

It took some searching, but Percy had finally managed to track down Annabeth. He had gone from the dining pavilion, the Athena cabin, back to the dining pavilion, the lake, and finally, the sword fighting pit. A small crowd of people had flocked around the entrance to the actual pit, giving Percy some cover to watch from afar. He almost immediately spotted Annabeth. She was one of the two people in the pit, after all. She was headed against a younger guy, one who appeared to only be about eighteen years old or so. They weren't sparring, not yet at least. The two of them were standing in the center of the pit, exchanging small sentences to each other. The younger guy was playing a small smirk on his face as he spoke. Percy felt his face curve into a smile, knowing how this was going to end. He watched the two of them each back up away from each other, both taking a fighting stance. Percy watched Annabeth intently, recognizing her fierce expression of determination all too well. In a flash, the two of them went after each other. The younger guy immediately went for the offense, slashing madly, but still holding back a little. This was only a spar, after all. As he began to noticeably tire, his reckless cuts left him nothing to show for it. Annabeth was too fast for him. After he appeared as though he could barely heft his sword up, she went in for the hit, carefully moving into his circle of defense. The guy lifted his sword to disarm her, but Annabeth reacted in a flash. Intercepting his sword, it clattered to the ground. The group that had been watching began cheering as soon as the first sword hit the ground. Both of the fighters were doused in compliments, pats on the backs, and a couple of high-fives. Percy walked towards Annabeth, lightly pushing through people. As he got closer, she turned in his direction. Her fiery look slowly, and almost hesitantly went away, as if she was contemplating her actions.

"Nice spar. I think the odds were a little unfair, though." Percy said with a small grin. Annabeth's face strained one, too, but she held it back.

"I guess I couldn't say no to a spar request, even if it was from a cocky eighteen year-old." Annabeth replied, glancing over at her opponent. They were silent for a moment, until Percy slipped his hand into Annabeth's. His other hand reached out to touch her chin, turning her towards him slightly.

"I'm sorry about what happened last night."

Annabeth nodded, "I am, too. I supposed I should've left you alone." Percy nodded, laughing a little. They walked away from the mass of people towards the stands of the arena.

"Yeah, I think that probably would've been a little better." As they got closer to the barriers around the stands, Percy hopped over them, leaving Annabeth on the other side, "Want a boost?"

Annabeth waved him away, "Thank you for the offer, but I'm perfectly fine getting up on my own." She pushed herself up on the edge of the fence before swinging her legs over to the other side. As she jumped down, Percy leaned in, backing her against the posting slightly.

"Let's not fight anymore," He muttered against her lips. He felt her mouth grow into a smile.

"Well, I can't make any promises, but I'll let you go this time, Jackson." She laughed, returning his kiss. But she broke away as quickly as she had gone in for the kiss, "But seriously, what Chiron said was important."

Percy nodded, "I know." He almost wished he didn't. The stark reality of how high the stakes were was nerve wracking on its own. He was lucky, very lucky, to have what he had, especially since he was a demigod. And demigods who settled down and especially married and had children might as well have targets painted on their backs.

"Okay…" Annabeth muttered, her line of sight sinking to the floor.

"Hey," Percy said, tipping her chin up, "We're gonna get through this."

"I really hope you're right about that, Percy."

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you go! Sorry it was a quick chapter, but there wasn't much to say. The next one I have planned is going to have a pretty goofy twist, though, so look forward to that.**

**Sincerely,**

**~L-P**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Some Explaining to Do

**A/N: As a warning, this is a really short chapter. But I'm going to try and post a chapter next Sunday. It's my sister's birthday, and I wanted to dedicate it to her.  
**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Some Explaining to Do

Percy and Annabeth dragged their feet up the stairs to their apartment with Marco trotting closely behind. They had ignored the fact that they both had classes tomorrow, and had left after dinner at camp. And after a long hour of driving, they were both exhausted.

"I can barely move," Percy groaned, "I ate way too much at dinner."

Annabeth scoffed, "The last time I checked, you're not the one carrying a baby. If anyone ate too much, it was me."

"The last I checked, you're not the one who ate three pieces of blueberry pie after a massive meal." He countered, clutching his stomach, "And by the way, I've got dibs on the bathroom when we get in." Annabeth scoffed in protest,

"Really? Dibs?" Percy didn't answer, but grumbled when Annabeth began to speed up the steps.

"H-hey! What are you doing?" He grunted as he began to pick up his feet as well. He hobbled past Annabeth, "Besides, I've got the key." He dug it out of his pocket and brandished it in her face defiantly. But before he could react, she snatched it out of his hand. Percy flailed out his hands to grab it, but she was too fast,

"In your dreams, Seaweed Brain!" She jiggled the handle of the apartment door, only for it to turn in her hand with ease. They both fell silent in question, "Percy…did you, by any chance, forget to lock the door before we left?"

"No. Why? Is it not locked?" He frowned, and it deepened when Annabeth pushed the door open. His brow furrowed, "Oh. That's weird."

"Not really. You probably just forgot to lock the door before we left." She walked in, with Percy following closely behind.

"I've got a bad feeling about this. You and I both know I always lock the door." He insisted, taking his keys back from Annabeth.

"Like I said, maybe you just forgot to this time." She turned towards the bathroom, "Now, will you excuse me…" She trailed off towards the bathroom, leaving Percy to check the rooms.

"Hopefully nobody robbed us." He muttered.

"Please, there isn't anything to steal."

He grunted, "Good point, and I guess we would've noticed." Percy glanced quickly into the kitchen, still convinced that something wasn't right. He walked towards their bedroom, kicking his shoes and socks off as he went. He fell onto the bed with a bump and blew his hair out of his face.

"Hello, Percy." A voice, his mother's, to be specific, called from the other room. He screamed as he writhed around in surprise on the bed covers. And as he looked into the living room, he saw his mother staring at him blankly from the sofa.

"Percy? Is everything all right?" Annabeth called from the bathroom.

"No," He croaked, "You're going to want to come in here."

"What is it?"

He gulped, "My mom's here."

Percy and Annabeth awkwardly sat down in separate chairs that were free, rather than sitting next to Sally. She didn't look as happy as she normally did, and the two of them weren't thrilled to find out why. They weren't a hundred percent sure how she got in their apartment, either, but if you were motivated enough, you could probably find a way in. Percy's mom stared at them blankly for a moment, before a small smile grew on her face,

"So, how was your weekend, you two?"

Percy looked at Annabeth anxiously, "Uh…we went to camp."

"That's nice." She replied airily, "I came by Saturday with some cupcakes."

"Oh, mom, I'm sorry." Percy replied as he sighed. Annabeth chimed in with apologies, but Sally cut both of them off.

"That's not why I'm angry." She said shortly, "I just found out something that just…gave me a bit of a shock is all."

Percy raised an eyebrow quizzically, "And that is?" Sally glanced at Annabeth knowingly, and her face slowly turned a light shade of pink, "Oh. That's what it is."

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" Sally cried out almost hysterically. Annabeth and Percy both began to speak up, their words fighting for control over the other.

"Well, uh-"

"We were going to tell you sooner…"

"But we just-"

"We just were waiting for the right time!" Annabeth finished with a squeak, as the color in her face intensified. Sally's hard glare went slack a little, and she exhaled loudly.

"It's alright, you two. I'm just a little surprised, like I said." Percy rubbed his neck in relief. Annabeth suddenly cleared her throat loudly, getting Percy to look over. He quickly glanced at his mother to make sure that she wasn't looking. When he found that the coast was clear, he regarded the ring on her finger. She gasped slightly, but before she could hide it, Sally took Annabeth's hands into hers. Percy winced, already planning out in his mind how this would end.

"Oh, you're going to be such an amazing mother, Annabeth!" She gushed, her eyes slightly misty. Percy held back from gagging,

He cleared his throat, "What about me?"

Sally grinned sheepishly, "Well, I don't think you'll be the greatest mother. But father, yes." She patted Annabeth's hands, but froze mid-way. Her face melted from glee to shock in the blink of an eye as she slowly looked down at the ring on Annabeth's finger.

"Oh…" She squeaked.

Percy immediately got to his feet, "Mom, I can explain."

"You should, and soon." She replied, short of breath.

* * *

**A/N: Like I said, I'm sorry it was so short. But I'll be back with a new chapter next Sunday. I'm still coming up with new name ideas, so I'm still going to be Leaded Pegasus for the time being.**

**Until then,**

**~Leaded-Pegasus**


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Brashness

**A/N: It's my sister's birthday today, along with it being Mother's Day. I wanted to dedicate this chapter to my sister, Izzy, as she is now a teenager. I couldn't ask for a better sibling. Happy birthday, girl.  
**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Brashness

Percy, along with a few others, could feel themselves nodding off by the time it was getting towards the end of the day. Monotonous lectures, pages of notes, and a towering stack of homework could be taxing on a person. And the fact that Percy no longer wanted to be a biologist made it all the more worse. The fact that he could be out and free as a bird this very moment made him sigh in his half-awake state. He watched as slides filled to the brim with information went by on the screen towards the front of the room, but he had long since stopped taking notes. Percy felt himself nodding off little by little, but just managed to catch himself. Unfortunately, he caught himself a second too late.

"See me after class, Mr. Jackson," Mister Milton ordered from the front of the room. Percy's eyes darted over towards his nasally teacher, who was no longer bidding him any attention. He kept himself from pounding his fist on the table. He was already in enough trouble, after all. But now, he'd be late getting home, which didn't go over well with anyone who lived there. Mister Milton could sometimes go on for up to an hour before he would let Percy leave. He rested his head down on his arms and settled himself in, knowing now that he was going to be there longer than he planned.

As students trickled out of the aquarium, it gradually fell silent. The tanks bubbled, but other than that, it was calm and quiet. Mister Milton had been sitting on his wooden stool the whole time as people left, staring at Percy.

"Mr. Jackson, over the past few years I've had you as an intern, I've regarded you as different things at different times. In the beginning you seemed to struggle at least slightly, as we all do at some point. But, you still diligently tried your best. You didn't say it, as you've always been one of the more quiet students, though I could tell you were." Mister Milton straightened his vest as he began to pace around, "It now seems as though that has changed. You fall asleep constantly, you almost never show up for class now, and you fail tests…I guess what I'm trying to get at is what has happened to you." Percy could hardly believe his ears. Mr. Milton actually cared about his studies, and what was going on with him? Percy shook his head,

"I…don't want to be a biologist anymore."

Mr. Milton sighed, nodding his head.

"I see. Well, Mr. Jackson, I'm glad you could be honest and straightforward about it to me about it. But I will send your papers to the campus office for you, and I wish you the best of luck." Mr. Milton was in front of the lab table now, and he extended his hand out. Percy took it, and they both shook hands.

"Thank you, sir." He got to his feet and picked up his workbag. And as Percy turned and began to walk towards the doors, the chatter from all of the animals in the aquarium began to pick up. He grinned slightly, knowing the only thing he would really miss from this place were them. Percy hopped in his car, and he phoned up Annabeth's phone at work. The dial tone played for a moment or two before she finally picked up.

"Is this who I think it is?" She asked.

"Yep. How's it going?" He answered.

"Fine. I've just got a few more things to draw up and then I'll be home, alright?"

"Okay." He was hesitant on whether or not he should bring up what he had just done. It might not smooth over well.

"Do you have any studying to do or are you free for tonight?" She remarked casually from the other end of the conversation. He grinned,

"I actually don't have any schoolwork tonight, so yeah. I'm free."

"That's pretty lucky on your part. You always have homework of some kind." Percy tapped his free hand on the steering wheel nervously.

"Nope. Not tonight." He replied quickly. Annabeth was quiet for a moment, as if calculating the edge in his voice.

She sighed, "If you say so, Mr. Secretive. So, what's for dinner?" He leaned back in the seat of his car and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess we should just order something."

He dug out his wallet, already knowing what he would have. Probably a few dollars and a stale piece of gum. Percy tipped his head back and rested it. He had only been a dropout for a few minutes, and now he was already screwed. He had no job, and no money, "I don't know. We've been ordering out a lot lately. Maybe we would be better off if we just made something at home."

"I've been wanting a home-cooked meal. So, what are you going to make?" Percy kept himself from scoffing, and he found himself laughing quietly.

"I don't know. Do we even have anything in the fridge?" Percy tried to picture what they had to eat in his mind, but nothing came other than boxes of dried-out rice, old pizza, and maybe a package of pasta. Percy started his car up, and Annabeth had fallen silent on the other line. Perhaps she was trying to imagine what they had to eat, as well, "Maybe we should order something out."

"I guess if we wanted to have a home-cooked meal, we could go to your mom's." Annabeth suggested. Percy cringed. After the awkward incident that had happened between the three of them a few weeks ago had been partially scarring.

"I think it's a little too early for that, Annabeth."

Annabeth sighed in disappointment, "Fine. We'll just have to get something out, then, since I know for a fact we don't have any food back at the apartment. I'll get something after work."

"Alright," Percy sighed as he clicked his seatbelt, "Love you."

"I love you, too." Percy hung up and tucked his phone away. He pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the road for home.

* * *

As Percy walked into the apartment, his "burglar alarm" dog barked a few times. He chuckled as his dog's nails click-clacked on the wooden floors and in front of his feet.

"Hey, Marco." Percy said tiredly. He scooped up the newspaper that had been lying on the bench by the door. He had probably read the newspaper a few times in his entire life, and when he did, it was for the comics. But now he was reading it for a different reason completely. There had to be some job for him somewhere. He brought the job column into the living room and collapsed on the couch. He squinted at the words, which only made them swirl around the page even more violently. Eventually, it was too much for him, and he threw the paper aside. As he was about to reach for the television remote, his phone rang, almost on queue.

"Hello?" Percy greeted as he loosened his tie.

"Hello, Perseus." It took a moment for the voice to register.

Percy frowned, "Chiron? Is something wrong?"

"You could say that. I was just informed that you have just dropped out of you college major." Percy gripped his phone tighter in his hand.

"And how did you find that out?" He asked critically.

"There are more demigods out there than you think, Perseus." Percy immediately began to wonder who could have possibly informed Chiron from school. John? Mr. Milton? There were so many people, too many, to truly pinpoint the perpetrator.

"Why do sound so concerned about it? People drop out of college all the time, Chiron."

"Not when they're engaged and have a child on the way," He replied with a tone of accusation. Pursing his lips, he switched his phone out to the other hand,

"This is personal. And I'd appreciate it in the future if you didn't have people spying on me." Percy retorted as he tried to keep his temper from flaring up.

"Personal? Perseus, this is Annabeth we're talking about. If anything were to happen to her, or the two of you in general, it would be tragic. Horrific."

"I know, Chiron. There's no point in reminding me about that." Percy snapped, "I think it's about time that you told me what you are getting at, otherwise I'm going to be extremely rude by hanging up on you." Chiron was silent for a moment before frankly announcing,

"I think it would be best for you and your soon-to-be family if you stayed at camp."

Percy laughed out loud, "You must be joking."

"Do you think this is a joking matter, Perseus?" Chiron exclaimed.

"Well you obviously think it is if you're going to suggest that insane idea. Do you really think I want to raise my kid in some camp where they constantly preach about the dangers of the outside world? I don't want that, and even if it means putting my life at risk for my son or daughter's happiness, then that's what I'll do."

"Oh, stop being so brash and think this through for a moment! Putting your life in danger will in turn mean putting the rest of your family's lives in danger as well. Now, please listen and-" Percy pounded the hang-up button on his phone and tossed it onto the coffee table. As he sat forward, he gripped his unruly hair in his hands,

"What am I doing?"

* * *

**A/N: Well, that finishes up this week's chapter. Sorry it wasn't sunshine and rainbows.**

**See you June 1****st****,**

**~Leaded-Pegasus**


	15. Chapter Fifteen: The Heat Wave

**A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it, even if it is a little short. But I guess most of you are used to that when it comes to me and this story.  
**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: The Heat Wave

Percy couldn't sleep that night. He felt sick to his stomach after his phone call with Chiron earlier. He was right, Annabeth was his responsibility now. But what would his tedious classes at the aquarium done for that? He turned on his side in an attempt to get comfortable, only to find Annabeth gazing back at him.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing; you're typically the one who sleeps better."

He grunted, "Could've fooled me. Alright, you go first."

"Same old, same old. Now what about you?"

"I…Something's just been bothering me."

Annabeth was silent for a moment after this, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just remember that if you ever need to talk to me, I'm there for you." She outstretched her hand to hold his, and he took it. Percy lightly brushed a thumb over their hands,

"Okay," He whispered, the heavy weight on his chest lifting only at the slightest. But it was enough to make him rest easy. For now, at least. Percy allowed his eyes to shut, and he fell asleep.

* * *

"Percy, come on. You've got to get up." Annabeth shook his shoulder repeatedly, and he snorted.

"Hmm?" He opened his eyes and was blinded from the light pouring in from outside, "Gah…It's too early."

"I had to get you up for class before I left for work. I'm giving you some cash so you can go grocery shopping after work, as well." He looked over at his bedside, where Annabeth was standing in her outfit for the architecture firm, "I'll see you later."

"Love you," Percy yawned as he sat up. Annabeth leaned down, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Brush your teeth, Seaweed Brain." She said, grinning on his lips as their kisses began to lengthen in time.

"I don't see why you can't skip work today." He muttered, smiling back and ignoring her comment.

"Come on, you're going to make me late." Percy gently pulled her down onto the bed, minding her stomach area. They continued their heavy kisses.

He broke away, "Want to stay now?"

Annabeth smirked, "I already told you. I've got to go to work. Save your energy for later, and don't forget to go shopping." She crawled out of bed, rearranging her hair as she went. He glanced at her as she scooped up her workbag by the door and left Percy alone on the unmade bed.

He sighed, but couldn't help but grin, "You have no idea, Annabeth." Percy rolled off the bed as he padded down the hallway toward the kitchen. As he opened the fridge, he peered inside, but remembered they had next to no groceries as he did. The least he could do now was feed his dog. Percy shut the door to the fridge, walking towards the pantry for the dog food.

"Marco! Come get your food!" The sound of small feet bolted down the hallway, and the dog appeared at his feet, buggy eyes glaring intently at him. Percy crouched down as he shook a fair portion of kibble into the bowl, and watched as Marco immediately dug in. He scratched behind his dog's ears, "I don't know how you can eat that stuff Marc. It's like eating cereal three meals a day."

But his dog didn't seem to mind it, because he practically inhaled it. Marco licked his chops a handful of times before sitting back on his haunches.

"I've got to go to the grocery store, I guess I could bring you along with me. Want to go on a walk, Buddy?"

* * *

Percy strolled down the street, clad in shorts, sandals, and a T-shirt, with his dog taking point. It was fairly warm out, which meant it was blistering out for his dog. By the time they had walked one block, his dog was already panting madly. Percy felt a twinge of guilt for taking his dog out in this type of weather, but he decided he would grab a bowl of water of sorts for his dog while he shopped. Up ahead, he spotted the grocery store. It was a modest little place, but it had the best deli market. As they got to the front of the store, Percy tied the leash to a bike rack. His dog, having done this with Perseus before, immediately sat down.

"Don't worry, I'll get you some water, Marco." Percy said, patting his dog's fuzzy head before walking into the store.

* * *

Percy dropped the grocery bags by the door, and felt as though he was going to drop dead. It had gotten blistering hot out since he had gone into the grocery store.

"Great. I'm sure the ice cream's nothing but peanut butter cup chocolate milk now." He grumbled, feeling irritated at the thought. He could be worse, Percy thought, as he watched his dog sprint to his water bowl. He gulped down the rest of his own drink, but by now it was nothing but a boiling bottle of Cola. He scooped up the bags and took them down the hall towards the kitchen. As he put away the groceries (and the melted ice cream,) the newspaper from the night before came to mind. Percy realized he would need to find a job soon, or else…

There were enough possibilities that came to mind. The only thing he could do right now was to keep the house clean so it wouldn't raise Annabeth's suspicions of him staying home. As he put in the last of the groceries, he heard something shut off suddenly. Percy glanced inside the fridge, thinking that the power had gone out. But the light was still on. He rubbed the back of his neck,

"Wow, why does it feel so hot?" He asked himself, but he felt as though he already knew the answer. Glancing at the ceiling, he waved his hand above the heating and cooling vents. No air, hot or cold, was coming out, "Oh, no…" He muttered. Annabeth was not going to be happy about this.

* * *

**A/N: And that's it for now. I know I announced earlier that I would be changing my name, but I've decided to hold off on it for a while. I just want to see if I still like the one I've picked out a few weeks from now, that's all.**

**Bye!**

**~Leaded-Pegasus**


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Space

**A/N: Chapter sixteen is finally here! It seems like it's been forever since the last time I posted anything for or about this story, and it kind of has been. But, here you go.  
**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Space

Percy had just finished tidying up the house when the door opened, and then slammed shut just as fast. He winced at this, remembering the lack of cool air in the house. The windows were open, but even then, it was enough to make him want to topple over.

"Percy!" Annabeth shouted his name, "I need to talk to you!"

"If it's about the hot air, I'm sorry. The air conditioning shorted out or something, but-"

"That's not what I need to talk to you about," She cut him off from the hallway, "Just get in the kitchen." Percy frowned. If it wasn't about the air conditioning, what could it be about? But he strolled down the hall, clueless and unprepared for what was about to come. Annabeth was sitting at the table, arms folded over the top of her stomach, and glaring straight at the wall,

"Annabeth," Perseus called, "What's wrong?"

Her eyes darted over towards him. If looks could kill right in this very moment…

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" She growled, "I got a call from Chiron. He told me, Percy."

It suddenly dawned on him. Chiron had told her about him dropping out.

"Great," Perseus sighed, "Thanks for watching my back, Chiron!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded. He pursed his lips at the sight of her. By now, Annabeth looked more hurt than anything.

"I didn't…" He stopped as he tried to look for the right words, "I didn't-"

"Want me to be worried?" She cut him off, "Percy, if I'm going to marry you, I need you to understand something. I don't care that you dropped out. I knew you hated your major, and I hope you can understand that. But marriage means we're a lifelong _team_ from this point on, or an even bigger team than we have been lately. If you're going to keep secrets like this from me all of the time, I don't see how this would work out. I told you that if you ever, ever needed to tell me something, you could. Why would you exploit that?"

"I wasn't exploiting that," Percy said through gritted teeth, "If anything, I just wasn't ready to tell you! Can't you understand that? I wasn't ready to tell you!"

"But why?" Annabeth pressed in disbelief.

"I just wasn't! Now stop asking me about it! Get past it!"

"No," She replied, "I'm not going to until you give me a reasonable answer. And for the record, you're acting like complete and utter child!"

He finally snapped, "Well you're being obsessive-compulsive!"

Annabeth's eyebrows raised at this, but she didn't reply. Instead, she shoved past him and grabbed her shoes.

"Where are you going?" He demanded

"I'm not staying here any longer. I'm going to camp until you get over this whole thing!"

"I get over it? If anyone needs to get over this, it's you!"

"Well maybe we both do in our own space!" She replied, not bothering to lower her voice, "And for now, my space is at camp!"

"So you're just going to leave me here?" He nearly screeched.

"Oh, don't act so innocent. You've got a car, if you absolutely need to get out of the house." Annabeth tossed a few bills onto the floor, "There. Since you can't afford your own gas."

"Don't you dare patronize me, Annabeth!" He started after her, but she had already slammed the door in his face. After a short stretch of silent, he gripped his head and sunk to the floor.

"Gods damn it! I can't believe her-" There was a knock at the door suddenly, and Percy reluctantly opened the door. He was surprised to find his mother standing there.

"Percy, what's going on between you and Annabeth?" She immediately began to ask, "Are you two having an argument?"

"You could say that," He muttered.

"Well, what's it about?" She continued to question as she let herself in. Sally pushed past her son and stepped into the living room, taking off her shoes as she went. Percy's mother patted the spot on the sofa beside her. He sat down, crossing his arms.

"I dropped out. And now, she's pissed off at me."

His mother gave him a sympathetic smile, "Don't you think she sort of had reason to be, honey? But is that all there is to it? Is that the only reason she's…pissed?"

"No. Annabeth's mad that I didn't tell her. She must think that we have trust issues or something, too, and that it's only going to get worse once we get married."

Sally nodded once, "If there's one thing that's tough early on in a marriage, it's being able to trust one another. You're so paranoid about the things that go on in other people's marriages, you stop worrying about your own. Annabeth doesn't have trust issues, Percy. You've known her half your life. You have always been there for each other, even when you weren't a couple. And you both need to realize that it's going to be like that for the rest of your lives."

Percy went over his mother's words in his head. It was completely true, what she had said. Even when they weren't married, and simply dating, there had always been an air of distrust. He secretly feared that Annabeth was seeing someone else, especially the nights she didn't return until late in the evening. And on some nights when he returned late himself, he was sure Annabeth felt the same way.

"I suppose you're right, but I think we both need some time away from each other." He sighed.

Sally brushed a hand through her son's hair, "That would probably be best."

* * *

**A/N: That's all for today, but Percy and Annabeth will give some reconciliation to each other on the fourth.**

**Thanks for the patience,  
Leaded-Pegasus**


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Forgiving

**A/N: I'm really sorry for getting back to this really late. Something went wrong with my post/replace chapter menu very early in the evening, and I stayed up until about 1:30 AM trying to fix it. Again, I'm very sorry.  
**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: Forgiving

Percy awoke Thursday, tired and very alone. His mother had taken his dog for a few days just for that very reason: to be alone. But now, he was more than ready to face Annabeth and their dilemma. By now, after three days of not seeing or hearing from her, Percy missed her a lot. He sat up in bed and scratched his chin. Glancing over at the calendar, since his memorization of dates was horrible, he realized that it was the Fourth of July. Percy's stomach nearly dropped,

"Oh man!" He rushed out of bed, "I've got to pack, get ready…"

He hastily ran for the bathroom to get showered and went through what he needed to do and get before driving down to Camp. The whole fireworks on the beach deal was no small matter. Well, granted, it wasn't as big an ordeal to him now that he didn't have to worry about awkwardly asking anyone to it. But, then again, he felt like he was a teenager again, trying to figure out how to ask Annabeth out to the fireworks all over again.

Despite the fact this soon-to-come confrontations reminded him of asking Annabeth out all those years ago, he couldn't help but be amused by it simultaneously. He remembered asking Beckendorf for advice during the capture the flag match. Beckendorf. So many of their friends, lost. He tried to not this of their demises all of the time, and he managed to do just that. But the few times he allowed them to come back to his thoughts, they came in saddening floods. It just made him all the more depressed. But just for tonight, that was going to change.

The 4th wasn't just for couples on the beach. Hell, it wasn't about the fireworks, either. It was about remembering those who were no longer there to watch them. Not mourning, remembering. Celebrating the lives lived as full as they could be lived. Percy reached down in front of him and shut the tap off in the shower. Water dripped down from his body as he stepped out and dried himself. It was time to get ready.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go now? I can take him as long as you need me to, Sweetie."

Percy smiled at his Mom as he leashed up Marco, "I'm sure, Mom. And thanks again for taking Marco."

"Oh, I'd be happy to do it anytime. And, Percy?"

He turned, "Yeah, Mom?"

The corner of Sally's eyes crinkled, "Go get her."

He pulled his mom into a hug before heading back downstairs.

* * *

"Excuse me? Where exactly can I find my best friend in the whole world?" Percy asked sarcastically as he jogged over to the shore of the beach and tapped Grover's shoulder. His friend grinned in response,

"Percy!" They pulled each other into a quick, brotherly embrace, "Annabeth didn't say you'd be showing, but she hasn't really talked to anyone since she got here."

Percy exhaled heavily at this, "Then I'm assuming you don't know what happened?"

Grover pursed his lips, "Well from how angry she was acting on Monday, I'm assuming it was a fight?"

Percy nodded once.

His friend grimaced, "Ouch."

A camper, carrying a heavy arm of fireworks called Grover over.

"Oh! I'm really busy right now with all of…this," Grover regarded the teams of people hauling explosives as he began to trot over, "But we'll talk later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Percy muttered. By now, as he tried to think with his racing brain, he was more concerned with finding Annabeth over anything. He searched every nook and cranny that there was to be found on Camp property. He asked everyone where she was, but with no prevail. Annabeth had been practically non-existent in the daily goings of Camp Half Blood over the past few days. Percy gave up his search for the time being, and decided that he would drop his things off at his cabin. After that, he was going to try and reach Chiron in order to speak with him. As much as he appreciated the mentor's concern, Percy needed to tell him that he had nothing to worry about.

* * *

"Percy, I wasn't expecting to see you on this fine Thursday." Chiron greeted.

"You think I'd miss the 4th of July fireworks?" Percy replied, curving his mouth into the best smile he could right now. He took a seat across from Chiron, who was currently in his incognito wheelchair.

"Well, I'm sure the fireworks aren't the only reason you drove here for," Chiron began, his voice somewhat stern.

Percy nodded, "No, they aren't. One of the other reasons I drove down here was to talk to you. Why did you call Annabeth about…you know, dropping out?" Chiron glanced down at the table critically, as if he were trying to memorize the grain of the grain of the wood in his mind.

"I understand this phone call caused some disagreement between you and Annabeth?" Chiron inquired, "Hence the reason she arrived here without you?"

He nodded a second time, "Yes and no. It was more about how we shouldn't keep things from one another. But I still don't see the reason why you felt like you had to intervene." Chiron smiled off to the side of his mouth,

"Perseus, I hope and pray that you know that under normal circumstances, I would never try and get between your relationship with Annabeth. But you aren't exactly a normal circumstance. Demigod couples, the slim few who make it through a reasonable amount of time are rare. They're a treasure. And quite frankly, I don't want to see that thrown away over something as tiny as a secret."

"Oh," Percy said, frowning, as he squirmed in his chair, "And that leads to another thing I've been meaning to talk to you about, Chiron. Since I've dropped out of my major, I was wondering if I could maybe take up your offer on staying here."

Chiron knit his eyebrows together quizzically, "Staying here? For how long?"

"Well…seeing how things are coming together between me and Annabeth…forever, maybe?"

"Forever," The Centaur replied with a short laugh before looking up at Percy, "Of course."

Percy nodded one final time before standing, "Thank you, Chiron."

* * *

"Are you expecting anyone, or can I be your beach buddy?" Percy called to Annabeth casually as he took a seat on a quilt. He kicked off his sandals and brushed his feet over to the edge and into the golden sand.

"Well, I guess I don't have much of a choice now, do I?" She remarked blandly. He glanced up at the slowly darkening sky, flitting his eyes away from Annabeth's direction.

"I, uh…wanted to say I was sorry about what I said, and I'm sorry I kept that from you."

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing," Annabeth replied, "If anyone should be apologizing, it's me. You weren't ready to tell me, and I know now that you would've eventually told me. So I'm sorry, and you don't act like a child."

"No," Percy said with a grin, "I'm sorry."

Annabeth lightly punched his across the shoulder, "Okay, maybe you do act like a child sometimes. But I'm sorry."

"I insist that I'm sorry, too." He looked back at Annabeth, who was rolling her eyes, but with the trace of a smile.

"Okay then, we're both sorry. How about that?" She backfired diplomatically.

"Fair enough." Percy laughed as he gently put an arm around Annabeth, "I've been thinking about them all day, you know. Beckendorf and Silena and Michael…"

Annabeth nodded solemnly, "So have I. But that's one of the bigger points of all of this, you know?"

"Yeah." Suddenly, a high piece of sound shot up into the sky, followed by a large boom of colors. Percy and Annabeth both jumped at the sound, "Gods, you think they could've given us a little warning on when they were going to start."

The show of flashes, sparkles and colors continued one by one. Various scenes from history played in the sky from an orchestra of fireworks. Oohs and aahs carried through the wave of people watching the fireworks. It went on and on, seemingly through the entire night.

* * *

**A/N: That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed the special 4th of July chapter, even though it's not really the 4th anymore.**

**Until the next chapter,**

**Leaded-Pegasus**


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